JR's overcoming bad genetics log

[jrock00123]

What is the goal of this log?
I'm starting this log to not only push myself to the next level, but to help identify dietary, training, and supplementation protocols that work best for those with poor genetics. I definite “poor genetics” as those that have unfavorable nutrient partitioning while either gaining or cutting. If you've ever been skinny or have to push excessive calories to gain size then this is NOT you. Guys like me can gain weight with no issue. We can also lose weight easily. Both are just a matter of diligent nutrition. The problem is we suck at partitioning. I've been 210lb with some decent lean mass underneath too much fat. I've been 170lb at 9% BF. I've yet to figure out how to get out of the trap of moving between these. I'm often in the middle at somewhere around 185lb. Neither big nor lean – frustrating.

History
Ok, a little history before everyone jumps to “he has no clue” conclusions. I've been serious about getting into great shape for almost 10 years. Modest goal of 195 and single digit BF. During this time I've experimented with many dietary and training protocols and run several cycles. This is not to say I jump from diet to diet or program to program. Each time I take on a new approach I am serious and give it a time. I also diligently track my food and training.

I've done 40/40/20, very low carb with refeeds, carb backloading, IF, and other dietary approaches. For training: 5/3/1, push/pull, upper/lower, BBB, Fortitude, and others. Again, allotting at least eight weeks and sometimes several months when something seemed to be working. I have studied bb nutrition, training, and supplementation. There are a handful of guys here that are way more knowledgeable than me, but let's just say my understanding is pretty good.

I've worked with three coaches via email. One is a well respected contest prep coach (although I don't compete). I've learned through these experiences and incorporate some of their knowledgeable into my current plans. I've also learned that I am definitely different in that what works for most, does not work for me. In particular, low carb + high cardio is a disaster for me. Low to moderate anabolics does not offset the catabolic affects in my situation.

Where I'm at today
A few weeks ago I decided to give the ABCDE diet a go. I was on TRT dosage at the time. 2 weeks of bulking at 3,800 kcal. 2 weeks of cutting at 2,000 kcal. At the end of the first round I netted 0.5 lbs of lean mass and lost 1 lb of fat. Not too bad. Maybe I found something that will work? This could only get better when my cycle starts, right?

Cycle: (all supplements are from board sponsor Samson)
1 – 2: 350mg test blend
1 – 2, 7 – 8: 20mg d-bol per day
3 – 8: 525mg test blend, 300mg tren blend
1 – 8: 12.5mg extemestane per day

So I started my eight week cycle thinking that this protocol will only be enhanced with steroids. The next two weeks turned into a mess. I bulked with the same 3,800 kcal I consumed previously. However, this time I gained 3 lbs of lean mass and 7 lbs of fat / water. I am now five days into the cut and I'm reversing some of the damage. I was hoping it was just bloat from the d-bol, but at this point I think it was more fat.

I have some ideas on how make the best of weeks 4-8. I know I need to outline my specific diet and training. This will be posted soon.

I have a lot more to say, but don't want to make this initial post too long. As this log progresses, I'm looking for advice / support for guys that have struggled through this. Particularly those with similar genetics that figured out what works.

 

[jrock00123]

Diet - Two attachments:
1) 2,000 kcal diet that I'm currently eating
2) 2,600 kcal diet that I plan on moving to on Monday

Hoping to boost back up over 3,000 kcal by week 6, but this will depend on how I look.

Training:
During the very low calorie weeks I'm doing heavy lifting 3x per week:

Overhead Press: 3 sets 3-5 reps
Deadlift: 3 sets 3-5 reps
Squat: 3 sets 3-5 reps
Lat pulldowns or cable rows: 3 sets 6-9 reps
Push-up with feet elevated: 3 sets AMAP (left shoulder currently does not allow benching )
Peck deck: 3 sets 20+ reps really focusing on inner chest squeeze

On higher calorie weeks I'm doing a high volume bb split 5x per week:
Chest / Back / Abs
Legs
Shoulders / Arms

24 to 28 total sets. Working in the 10 to 14 rep range. Pairing most exercises into supersets to save time.

Currently not doing cardio. But this will change starting today. Planning on adding 1 HIIT and 1 steady state session per week.

 

[jrock00123]

I had a good workout yesterday:

Overhead press 130 x 5,6,7
Deadlift 350 x 5,5,6
Squat 255 x 7, 260 x 5,6
3 set lat pull downs for 8 reps
3 set peck deck for 20 reps
2 set incline push-ups AMAP
2 set db curls -- just for the pump


Today is an off day. Went for a 45 min walk with my wife.

After considerable thought I will be moving to a 2,300 kcal diet starting tomorrow. There is a post in John Meadow's thread where he comments that attempting to gain while over 12% is less than ideal. I've heard the similar "get lean first" advice many times, and probably said it to others. But in reality I usual start at 12-13% and end up way beyond within the first few weeks.

Honestly I'm much closer to 15-16% at this point. I plan on keeping the calories low until I reach 10-11%.

** My first "rule" for those with bad genetics. Don't start gaining until you are lean (abs fully visible). Do NOT raise your calories when you start a cycle. Eat exactly what you've been eating to get lean. After a week start adding very slowly. Stay below 12%.

I do my weekly weigh-in and waist measurement on Mondays, so I'll post the new starting point tomorrow. If I feel brave enough I'll also post some out of shape photos this week. I'm already motivated, but this would really make it real.

Week 4 of my cycle starts tomorrow. I've decided make this a nine week cycle so there are still six full weeks to go. I'm going to kill it!

 

[jrock00123]

weight = 187.8 lb, waist = 33.1", BF est = 15.0%

I use a combination of my impedance scale and waist circumference to come up with an est BF %. My formula seems to work pretty good as it matches photos / mirror.

Reformulated the diet slightly and it comes out to 2,400 kcal, 205gm carb, 260gm pro, 55gm fat. I plan on using this diet for this week and maybe next. After that I'd like to move up just slightly to 2,600 kcal.

I will do one more week of the heavy strength focused training along with some high volume pump workouts. Starting next week I'll be moving to a high volume 5-day split with 2 days of cardio. One of the sessions may be HIIT if my recovery feels good.

This week's training:

• Mon: Chest / Back / Abs 26-30 total sets, 20-30 reps
• Tues: Full body: Overhead Press, Deadlift, Squat 3 rep range with some assistance work.
• Wed: Cardio - steady state for 30 min.
• Thr: Full body: Overhead Press, Deadlift, Squat 3 rep range with some assistance work.
• Fri: Shoulders / Arms 26-30 total sets, 20-30 reps
• Sat: Full body: Overhead Press, Deadlift, Squat 3 rep range with some assistance work.
• Sun: Cardio - steady state for 30 min.

 

[Evolutionteam]

Nice log bro!

Sent from my SM-G920R4 using Tapatalk

 

[jrock00123]

This afternoon's workout was good. I'm not use to the very high reps.

Push-up are way under rated. I did a ton of them - hands wide, feet elevated, narrow. I felt my chest working harder than any bench workout. I can't bench press at the moment due to shoulder pain. But I have no problem doing various push-ups and high rep pec deck.

The more I think about it, my shoulders and triceps really take over when I bench. Maybe this is part of the reason why my shoulder got injured. Genetically I have good chest development (but unfortunately also store chest fat easily). I really don't need too much direct chest work.

For back I did very high rep db pull-overs, lat pulldowns, and db rows

Hopefully I'm not too sore for tomorrow's heavy lifting.

 

[jrock00123]

I'm feeling good overall. Energy is high despite low calories. Strangely no sides from the tren. Sleep is slightly off, but no night sweats.

The diet is going very well. No hunger issues. I'm go to do some basic carb / calorie cycling starting tomorrow.

• Low days (Wed & Sun) = 1,975 kcal, 101gm carb, 252gm pro, 57gm fat
• Moderate (Mon, Tues, Fri, Sat) = 2,398 kcal, 205gm carb, 260gm pro, 56gm fat
• Carb-Up (Thr) = 2,826 kcal, 392gm carb, 224gm pro, 36gm fat
• Weekly Avg = 2,228 kcal, 202gm carb, 253gm pro, 53gm fat

Today's workout was good:

Overhead press: 135 x 3,4 140 x 3
Deadlift: 370 x 3,4,4
Squat: 275 x 3,4,5

8 sets of assistance work 7-8 RM

Starting photos are attached (I'm a mess). Looking for a huge improvement over the next six weeks.

 

[Paranoid Fitness]

Thorough and interesting. Thanks for sharing.
I think more of us fall into the same category than you might think.

I've abandoned the "no cardio while bulking" mantra.
I've found that I cannot stay lean myself without daily cardio.
20-30 min pre and post WO.
I'm just getting back to HIIT 2x/wk 30-45min.
I know, it seems like a lot of cardio.
Good news is, even with all the injuries and surgeries, my heart and lungs are doing great (even being a lung cancer survivor).


I'm on a 5 day split with one full rest day per week and abs on the other "off" day.

My main thing is timing of my meals. So busy sometimes I forget to eat. Throws off the entire day.

I wish you luck and will follow along. Maybe I'll pick up something useful along the way...

 

[jrock00123]

Thanks brother. I'm glad you are doing well. Be careful with the HIIT and a 5-day split. This could tax your recovery. Missing a meal once in a while is not big deal, just eat a little more at your next meal.

 

[jrock00123]

Today was a low calorie / low carb day (around 2,000 kcal, 100gm carbs). Surprisingly it was a breeze.

45 min light stationary bike. I watched an episode of The Flash on Netflix. Good way to make the time go by.

Looking forward to the carb up tomorrow.

 

[jrock00123]

Overhead press: 140 x 3,3,4
Deadlift: 370 x 5, 380 x 3,4
Squat: 275 x 5, 285 x 3,3

Carb up today -- approx 400 gm

Feeling good. Not much more to report today.

 

[Sigster]

Very interesting log, follow u!

 

[jrock00123]

Today's workout was very high rep shoulders / arms. Wow! My delts and biceps were super pumped. Probably due to yesterday's carb up.

I decided to do an extra ml today. 100mg tren / 100gm mast. This was just a little extra and not part of the official cycle.

The tren is starting to affect my sleep slightly. Not too bad, but I'm waking up a lot and some sweating. So far it's tolerable.

 

[jrock00123]

Last day of heavy strength based training. Worked up to 1-RM for each:

Overhead press: 155 x 1
Deadlift: 410 x 1
Squat: 315 x 1

I felt I had more in the tank for both the deadlifts and the squat. These tied my PR, so I'm happy with this strength phase. BTW, my squat has always been relatively weak.

I'm starting a slightly modified version of Fortitude Training on Monday. I separated the loading and pump sets into their own days. I also put calves and abs on a separate day.

Mon: Full body 6 - 14 rep range
Tues: Full body 20+ reps
Wed: LISS cardio
Thr: Legs & biceps muscle rounds
Fri: Back, shoulders, chest, triceps muscle rounds
Sat: Calves & abs, sled runs, farmers walks
Sun: LISS cardio

Ok, here's something strange. My BP has been running around 125-130/80-85 for a while. I recently started taking 1 tsp of beetroot powder and 1 cap of Carditone. I took my BP this morning and it was 117/80. My BP has not been this low since I was on true TRT dosage.

This means that either the new supplements are working amazingly or my gear is bunk. No sleep issues last night. I dosed another 100mg or tren and mast today. I'm looking for some real tren sides to reassure me the products are properly dosed.

I will be out of town next week, so I'll be doing my weekly measurements tomorrow instead on Monday. I'll have access to a full gym next week and will still have the flexibility to prepare most of my meals.

My diet and training have been spot on. I'm interested to see how this week's results measure up.

 

[jrock00123]

Today was a travel day. I did 25 min on the elliptical. It was also a low calorie day. BP this morning was back to 130/80. Yesterday must have been a fluke.

Today was the fourth day in a row dosing tren at 100gm. Keep in mind I was already doing 300mg per week and this is a mixed ester product. Perhaps I'm being a bit impatient, but visual changes are only "ok". I'm busting my ass and my diet it dialed in. I'm definitely seeing improvement, but not much than I would expect at TRT dosage levels.

I'll post my stats update tomorrow ...

 

[jrock00123]

weight = 186.4 lb, waist = 32.7", BF est = 14.5%
change from last week = -1.4 lb, -0.4", -0.5%

Of course I want to see the changes come faster. However, looking at this objectively, it was a productive week. I'm running a 600 kcal deficit, so just over a lb of fat loss is just about right.

I don't see much visually yet. I should take a couple of photos next week to compare to the starting photos.

 

[LK3]

read through you log bro!
we will talk privately before I post more, but got a chance to read!

 

[jrock00123]

Yesterday was the first day of Fortitude Training. This was the full body loading day (6-14 rep range). I'm working out at an LA Fitness vs my home gym this week due to travel.

Squat x 3
Leg press x 3
Leg ext x 3
Leg curl x 2
HS shoulder press x 2
Seated row x 2
Lateral raise x 2
HS decline press x 2
BB curl x 2
Machine fly x 2
Push-up x 2

Normal 2,400 kcal diet. Energy is good. Sleep was a little off, but no sweating.

 

[mich29]

following along love the title gives you drive to do your best

 

[jrock00123]

Yesterday was day 2 of FT. This is the full body "pump" day (20-30 reps). I won't list every exercise. 10 sets upper body, 8 sets lower body. This workout rally taxes your conditioning.

Today was the low calorie / low carb menu. 30 min elliptical at avg 135 bpm.

I'm just starting to notice some change in the mirror.

LK3 gave me some great advice ... no nonsense, straight to the point, stop f'ing around at get serious advice. Stop changing nutrition and training programs. Use hormones in a more effective way and at the lowest dose that gets results. Most importantly, be patient! Result do not come overnight. This is a slow process that requires consistency as well as dedication. I totally appreciate the brutal honesty. I for one will listen and follow through. Hope those reading this log do the same.