Going From ZERO to Hero, Training Journal

Zero2hero2013

Ok so i am posting up my training journal, i plan on adding entries daily, i hope peolpe will read and give good advice as i go, but please be nice. any positive information advice is welcomed. and ofcourse any encouragement is welcomed also!

here is a catch up on my past for anyone i havent spoken to before.

i started out in march 2011, i weighed 17 stone, 236lbs, 107kg.... i was around 33% bodyfat. i spent the first six months losing fat and basically getting into weight lifting generally using the machines.

here is a pic i took after 1 month weighing around 100kg,

here is me when i got much lower on bodyfat.

this is were most of my trainign started going wrong i guess. i went on holiday in february 2013 to brazil so i basically decided i wanted to stay as lean as possible untill afterwards, and with xmas as well it was probably the best thing for me.
this picture was me before i went to brazil

after the holiday i was a little fatter lol had a great time in brazil but drank alot and ate alot of foods that my body was not used to lol.

so i slimmed down again untill the begining of may and then started bulking arounf 4 weeks ago.

and finally this is me currently

Zero2hero2013

ok, so i started a new routine which looks like this

deadlift 3 x 5
BB row 3 x 5-8
Pullups 3 x 8
DB rows 3 x 10
Incline DB curls 3 x 10

Wed- Push:
Flat bench 3 x 5
Incline db bench 3 x 8-10
military press 3 x 8
dips(weighted) 3 x 5-10
inc db flyes 3 x 10
inc bb french press 3 x 10 (skullchrushers)

Fri- Legs/Abs
back squats 5x5
Leg extension 3 x10
Leg curls 3 x 10
leg calf raise /w dip belt 3 x 10
Hanging leg raises 3 x 10

Zero2hero2013

todays training, very first attempt on this routine.
deadlift 1x8x100kg,
1x5x130kg,
3x5x150kg,
it was a little heavy and i wont aim to beat this weight next week but hopefully it should become slightly easier. it took alot of energy out of me.

BB row 3x8x60kg, fealt good, little fatigued but good.

wide grip pull ups 3x4 at body weight

DB rows 3x10x 32.5kg after this i was done to be honest. had a large weekend which i wouldnt of normally had and i am 100% sure it affected me today.

decided to go on the bicep curl machine, 3x10x 75lbs.

generally very happy but i am completely done lol. happy i have a rest day tomorrow which i am hoping will make all the difference.

Zero2hero2013

one question i have already is about the non gym days. i am planing on eating above maintenance i.e 500 cals surplus. but would it be worth me sticking to the same calorie intake monday-saturday so 3500 cals daily, or should i drop the 500 i allow for the gym, and have 2950 on non gym days?

sunday i plan on eating within reason whateer i fancy but il keep my calories at maintenance.

any advice on it?

blonde71

You've made some nice progress. That's great that you want to keep an online training journal. Personally though, I don't know if I would have the guts to post my workouts on a public forum, lol. Nevertheless, I'll be reading yours. Also, quick question: how tall are you?

delmc1

thanks pal .given me a great idea to copy .should help me focus on what i need to do

Zero2hero2013

im 6ft 2 almost lol. im 187cm. have a 35'' waist currently, weigh 87-88kg.

blonde71

You're at a good weight for your height IMO.

Zero2hero2013

ok, so i am upping my calories by around 300 daily,
weds training sesion: Push

Wed- Push:


Flat bench 3 x 5 1 5 60 kg
1 5 70 kg
3 5 75 kg



Incline db bench 3 x 8-10 1 8 45 kg
1 7 55 kg
1 6 55 kg
1 4 55 kg



military press 3 x 8 1 8 20 kg
1 8 40 kg
2 7 40 kg



dips(weighted) 3 x 5-10 0 0 0 kg




inc db flyes 3 x 10 3 10 5 kg



inc bb french press 3 x 10 (skullchrushers) 0 0 0 kg

over head skull crushers 2 10 15 kg

Zero2hero2013

had some problems yesterday, generally everything went well. but i couldnt manage to do a single dip by the time i got to that point in the session. and i have real issues doing skull crushers. gonna have to practise them.

on a plus though managed to get 3x5 at 75kg which may not sound loads but its going up. previously i had bad form on the bench. so i lowered the weight down and started from scratch. its definately working. my chest is growing finally lol. and the form on the bench is so different now but so much better. weird how you get used to doing something. then change it slightly and it makes a huge difference. was quite a full on session and i am looking forward to improving on it weekly! first step. actually manage some dips. (part of the problem is i have a broken finger on my left hand. so it makes gripping quite hard.

Zero2hero2013

just a couple progression pics, this is 1 month into bulking

blonde71

Nice numbers especially flat bench

Zero2hero2013

thanks but i wish :-( my aim for flat bench is 100kg+ deadlift is 240+ and squats 180kg+ hoping to achieve this over the next 1-2 years. hoping to get the bench up by xmas and deadlifting 200kg for reps by xmas. squats 140kg for reps and id be happy. have a funny feeling though my bench will be the hardest for me. damn these long arms lol

blonde71

haha

I mentioned it b/c I find the incline bench easier so anyone that has better flat numbers than me has my utmost respect. :bigsmile:

Zero2hero2013

haha, you realise that flat bench numbers should be higher then incline right? also if it makes you feel any better normally i can do 1x5x70kg incline barbell, the free weights are alittle harder and i can currently do 60kg if i start it first. fealt really tired yesterday so i am keep my weights slightly lower then my max so i can keep progressing week by week. no point starting at my max and plateuaing instantly. hopefully in 3-4 weeks il be at 80kg bench then i am aiming for around 5kg a month.

blonde71

Yes, I do so maybe I'm weird. Incline gives me a better angle, flat is much harder for me to perform with any type of bragging rights. What can I say? My upper body is not as strong as lower. But these numbers are motivating the heck out of me.

mideon_696

got a log up, great stuff mate. Most of us strength trainers have them on other sites. definately a good idea.

Good to see you eating a heap. Dont go getting caught up with BF%'s etc, just eat and lift big! you know full well how to lose it later
you need to get stronger, so keep it going.

any idea to what point you want to bulk to?
i'm aiming for around 100kg, lol...currently 3.5kg in @ 88.5 @ 183cm.

Zero2hero2013

well i am aiming to go through to march, with a possible 4-6 week cut in septemember.
im currently 87.5kg as of this morning, so in 4 weeks i have actually gained no weight. it went up the second and 3rd week then dropped off again. although i fasted for a couple of day, (had no training).
im not worries though, definately lost some fat while gaining muscle. not sure how much, but now its time to eat more for a month and access then whether its working well or not. also dropped from a four day week to 3 days, mon/wed/fri which i am hoping should allow me to rest better and make better gains. id like to say 100kg. im 6ft2 187cm. so upto 12kg is the aim. and hopefully il cut around 10kg of from march and be sub 10% for the next summer.

Zero2hero2013

can you not edit a post after a certain amount of time passes?

anyways, loaded the pic from my phone so the quality is slightly better. originally i just wanted to edit the above post and replace the pic.

here it is anyway. same picture but larger.

Natx83

Nice work! It's good to see the progression. I'm still cutting the body fat down prob about 4-5 kg to go and will do something similar to you once there! Will keep up to date oath how you are going.

Zero2hero2013

Fri- Legs/Abs

back squats 5x5 1 5 60 kg
1 5 80 kg
2 5 100 kg
1 5 105 kg

Leg extension 3 x10 1 5 70 kg
3 5 104.4 kg


Leg curls 3 x 10 1 5 59.8 kg
3 5 86.20689655 kg

leg press calf raises 1 10 150 kg
2 10 86.2 kg single leg
2 10 186 kg


Hanging leg raises 3 x 10 2 10 3lbs

Ab cradle 3 20

Zero2hero2013

stoked about todays session, fealt quite fatigues before i started but it didnt slow me at all! now i am completely broken though lol.
managed to get a new pb in a couple of areas today.
squats 105kg! woohoo, next week im gonna go for 2 sets at 105.
leg extension is up around 6kg from last week, and the leg curls is up around 11kg. as from next week im gonna start doing some lunges after the squats or calf raises. should of started this week but forgot untill i was already doing the extensions.

generally very happy and pleased. onwards and upwards!

blonde71

Congrats on the PR.

Don't laugh but quick question: WTH is an ab cradle? I've never heard of that exercise before (you'd better not be laughing!).

Also, wish I had a bar to hang from for the hanging leg raises but I workout at home so I substitute lying leg raises instead.

Zero2hero2013

i do them leg raises on a captain chair, and the ab cradle is the c shape crunch machine, nothing fancy or expensive but i was tired so kinda cheated by do assisted crunches. because i have been doing deadlifts on mondays and squats on fridays it really takes it out of my core strength. so i try to push these little extra things. im hoping if i keep doing it regularly it will help both of the the big lifts

blonde71

Oh, thanks for answering.

Never would think to do the leg raises on a captain chair.

Also, I loathe crunches. Haven't done one in almost a year. Always just hurt my back and strained my neck. Never really got any good burn going either. Now I just do: planks, lying leg raises and renegade rows. But crunch away, lol.

Zero2hero2013

ok so i started my training thinking along one line and ended up doing something a little different lol.

deadlifts
1x10x100kg
1x8x130kg
1x5x160kg, this is where it changed, should of done 2 more sets, but my friend was there and havent seen him since i did the 180kg and wanted to show him lol.

1x1x180kg smashed it, fealt really good so decided to go heavier
1x1x190kg!! i was so stoked! he was shocked. to be honest he was shocked when i did the 5 rep at 160 lol.

bent over row barbell
3x8x70kg

4x2 wide grip pull ups. really couldnt do many at all. i think the day i did it previously it was after the 4 day break and i fasted and my weight dropped by around 4kg.

bent over row
3x8x32.5kg

bicep curl machine,
3x8x100lbs very happy with this too.

not sure what to do about the pull ups, they are a vital part of my training. and i am only going to get heavier.
should i stick with normal pull ups or should i do them before the deadlifts and see if it makes a considerable difference?

ilovedeadlifts

I'd do deadlifts first. They're the major compound movement so that should be hit first.
Then do the amount of pullups you're able to do after that.

If you're still having trouble, you need to address your conditioning.

Zero2hero2013

thats what i was worried about lol. im pretty much a non cardio person so it isnt good lol. to be honest though i have been finding my shoulders aching when i try to do them, maybe its the weight of the deadlifts. next week il make sure il do the proper 3x5 i planned. and hopefully that should help. if i am struggling il do some negatives.

Zero2hero2013

Wed- Push:


Flat bench 3 x 5 1 5 60 kg
1 5 80 kg
1 2.5 90 kg
1 4 80 kg
negatives 1 5 90 kg

Incline db bench 3 x 8-10 1 5 25 kg
1 6 25 kg
1 6 25 kg




military press 3 x 8
1 8 40 kg
1 10 40 kg
1 9 40 kg



dips(weighted) 3 x 5-10 1 9 88 kg
1 10 88 kg
1 6 88 kg



over head skull crushers forgot…..

shoulder shrugs 3 10 90 kg
face pulls 3 10 11 setting

Zero2hero2013

im so happy! tried doing the 90kg in the past and struggled to get one up, usually had to have a little assistance. today i amde the first rep all by myself, then the second and needed a little help on the third! was so stoked!

kinda messed up my training today. saw a friend in the gym and forgot my routine. so i improvised. i also did lat pull down 1x5x150lbs with him just to show him the form.

woop woop so happy!