MrMuscle logs Anabolic Effect, Anabolic XT, Pepti-Plex, Phosphatidic Acid XT, GlycoPhase, Pump Gel, Super Swole and Pump Addict

[TheMrMuscle]

Push 2
Tuesday, 31 October 2023 at 07:02

Elliptical Machine
Set 1: 10:00

Seated Cable Y-Raise
Set 1: 5 kg × 10 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 10 kg × 9 [Failure]
Set 3: 5 kg × 15 [Failure]

Hammer Strength Incline Press
Set 1: 40 kg × 8 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 60 kg × 4 [Warm-up]
Set 3: 80 kg × 7 [Failure]
Set 4: 60 kg × 17 [Failure]

Prime Shoulder Press
Set 1: 60 kg × 4 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 75 kg × 8 [Failure]
Set 3: 60 kg × 18 [Failure]

Standing Close Grip Press
Set 1: 60 kg × 4 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 80 kg × 6 [Failure]
Set 3: 60 kg × 17 [Failure]

Chest Fly (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 17,5 kg × 12 [Failure]
Set 2: 12,5 kg × 20 [Failure]

Hammer Strength Mts Triceps Extension
Set 1: 32,5 kg × 11 [Failure]
Set 2: 25 kg × 20 [Failure]

Lateral Raise (Pad Machine)
Set 1: 46 kg × 10 [Failure]
Set 2: 34,5 kg × 16 [Failure]

Vertical Calf Press Integrated Partials
Set 1: 0 kg × 10 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 25 kg × 5 [Warm-up]
Set 3: 45 kg × 10 [Failure]
Set 4: 30 kg × 12 [Failure]

Inverted Crunch
Set 1: 10 reps [Failure]
Set 2: 10 reps [Failure]

Stairs
Set 1: 10:00

Stretching
Set 1: 15:00

My fiance has been sick with a cold for the last 4 days and last night I started feeling a little in my throat as well. I coughed a bit during the night and I have a stuffed nose now. I did feel it a bit during the workout as my top sets went great but my back off sets were a bit rougher.

 

[LeanEngineer]

My fiance has been sick with a cold for the last 4 days and last night I started feeling a little in my throat as well. I coughed a bit during the night and I have a stuffed nose now. I did feel it a bit during the workout as my top sets went great but my back off sets were a bit rougher.

It's been going around where I'm at. We pretty much have household colds at my house. If one person gets it the whole house gets it

 

[sns8778]

I'm sorry to hear about your fiancée being sick. I hope she feels better soon and hope that you feel better too.

 

[hercules_22]

Any chance you'll take some comparison photos?

 

[akboom87]

Push 2
Tuesday, 31 October 2023 at 07:02

Elliptical Machine
Set 1: 10:00

Seated Cable Y-Raise
Set 1: 5 kg × 10 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 10 kg × 9 [Failure]
Set 3: 5 kg × 15 [Failure]

Hammer Strength Incline Press
Set 1: 40 kg × 8 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 60 kg × 4 [Warm-up]
Set 3: 80 kg × 7 [Failure]
Set 4: 60 kg × 17 [Failure]

Prime Shoulder Press
Set 1: 60 kg × 4 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 75 kg × 8 [Failure]
Set 3: 60 kg × 18 [Failure]

Standing Close Grip Press
Set 1: 60 kg × 4 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 80 kg × 6 [Failure]
Set 3: 60 kg × 17 [Failure]

Chest Fly (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 17,5 kg × 12 [Failure]
Set 2: 12,5 kg × 20 [Failure]

Hammer Strength Mts Triceps Extension
Set 1: 32,5 kg × 11 [Failure]
Set 2: 25 kg × 20 [Failure]

Lateral Raise (Pad Machine)
Set 1: 46 kg × 10 [Failure]
Set 2: 34,5 kg × 16 [Failure]

Vertical Calf Press Integrated Partials
Set 1: 0 kg × 10 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 25 kg × 5 [Warm-up]
Set 3: 45 kg × 10 [Failure]
Set 4: 30 kg × 12 [Failure]

Inverted Crunch
Set 1: 10 reps [Failure]
Set 2: 10 reps [Failure]

Stairs
Set 1: 10:00

Stretching
Set 1: 15:00

My fiance has been sick with a cold for the last 4 days and last night I started feeling a little in my throat as well. I coughed a bit during the night and I have a stuffed nose now. I did feel it a bit during the workout as my top sets went great but my back off sets were a bit rougher.

Hope that you and her are feeling better!

 

[LeanEngineer]

Any chance you'll take some comparison photos?

Would like to see that at the end as well!

 

[TheMrMuscle]

It's been going around where I'm at. We pretty much have household colds at my house. If one person gets it the whole house gets it

I'm sorry to hear about your fiancée being sick. I hope she feels better soon and hope that you feel better too.

Hope that you and her are feeling better!

Thanks guys. I got hit hard on Thursday and Friday where i mostly stayed in bed only got up to eat and drink. Weekend was a bit better and I was back at work on Monday. Just finished my first workout in a week and it was not much to write home about. Still not 100% but at least i got the body moving. Hopefully ill be back to full throttle by the weekend.

Any chance you'll take some comparison photos?

Would like to see that at the end as well!

Im sure ill take pictures but progress will be hard to gauge from a visual stand punkt i think. Having been lifting for over 30 years I would be amazed if i got that drastic of a result. But it would be awesome! I think most of the results will present itself in the other data im able to provide.

 

[sns8778]

Great to see you posting; had been worried about you. I hope you continue to feel better.

 

[TheMrMuscle]

Great to see you posting; had been worried about you. I hope you continue to feel better.

Thank you man. So I have been at the gym for the last 3 days but i havent been able to push it at all. I am feeling a little better each day but it doesnt seem like my body is agreeing with that assesment.

 

[rascal14]

Late but here to follow along, the organization you have is amazing.

life time natural correct? I feel as if you are a prime example of what’s achievable natty (going from memories of older photos).

in this day you get kids (coming from a 27 year old) thinking cbum is a natty physique, when in reality 90% of decent looking gym goers are not natural.

 

[TheMrMuscle]

Late but here to follow along, the organization you have is amazing.

life time natural correct? I feel as if you are a prime example of what’s achievable natty (going from memories of older photos).

in this day you get kids (coming from a 27 year old) thinking cbum is a natty physique, when in reality 90% of decent looking gym goers are not natural.

Thanks man, yeah life time natural.

Tell me about it, I have kids that come into my store and ask "do you workout?" and when I tell them ive been lifting for over 30 years they dont understand why im not "bigger".

 

[rascal14]

Thanks man, yeah life time natural.

Tell me about it, I have kids that come into my store and ask "do you workout?" and when I tell them ive been lifting for over 30 years they dont understand why im not "bigger".

Very annoying. You look amazing and far better than 90% of the people I know who are on sarms/roids of some kind, myself included.

 

[LeanEngineer]

I feel as if you are a prime example of what’s achievable natty

Agreed completely here. I don't think there are enough examples of what is truly achievable natty vs not natty.

 

[clevelandsae]

Do you normally keep carbs at that level or was that increased for this run?

 

[TheMrMuscle]

Very annoying. You look amazing and far better than 90% of the people I know who are on sarms/roids of some kind, myself included.

Agreed completely here. I don't think there are enough examples of what is truly achievable natty vs not natty.

Thank you guys, you are really kind!

Do you normally keep carbs at that level or was that increased for this run?

Hey, these are the carbs ive been running for the past 6 months while maintaining. They will increase when I start my bulk in december.

 

[rascal14]

Thank you guys, you are really kind!


Hey, these are the carbs ive been running for the past 6 months while maintaining. They will increase when I start my bulk in december.

Curious and forgive my ignorance as I don’t 100% remember your ethnicity.
What do you do around the holidays? Do you stick to your plan 100%, planned cheats on holidays? Etc.

 

[TheMrMuscle]

Curious and forgive my ignorance as I don’t 100% remember your ethnicity.
What do you do around the holidays? Do you stick to your plan 100%, planned cheats on holidays? Etc.

Im a Norwegian who lives in Sweden, so if you look up the color white you will see a picture of me

My philosophy is pretty straight forward. If anyone prepeares food for me or if we are celebrating something, then I eat whats available. Seeing as there are 365 days in a year and I eat 6 times a day that makes it 2190 meals a year. So If i eat 1 or 2 meals outside of my plan a month, well thats such a small part of anything that I dont stress at all.

Christmas is my favorite holiday so you can be sure ill eat christmas dinner and all the cookies known to man!

 

[rascal14]

Im a Norwegian who lives in Sweden, so if you look up the color white you will see a picture of me

My philosophy is pretty straight forward. If anyone prepeares food for me or if we are celebrating something, then I eat whats available. Seeing as there are 365 days in a year and I eat 6 times a day that makes it 2190 meals a year. So If i eat 1 or 2 meals outside of my plan a month, well thats such a small part of anything that I dont stress at all.

Christmas is my favorite holiday so you can be sure ill eat christmas dinner and all the cookies known to man!

Good to know, I thought you were in Sweden and want to say I remember you owning a supplement store?? Trying to get back into this community some more so my memory is fuzzy.

Christmas is my absolute favorite time as well, and I really enjoy your philosophy of 2190 meals a year. Really puts into perspective that you stick to the plan everyday, you can still enjoy the good times with your friends/family as they come up.

 

[TheMrMuscle]

Good to know, I thought you were in Sweden and want to say I remember you owning a supplement store?? Trying to get back into this community some more so my memory is fuzzy.

Christmas is my absolute favorite time as well, and I really enjoy your philosophy of 2190 meals a year. Really puts into perspective that you stick to the plan everyday, you can still enjoy the good times with your friends/family as they come up.

Good memory, that is correct i do run a supplement store.

Yeah I think its easy to get in ones own head about extra calories and what not. I know i did when I was in my early twenties. But now, two decades later im starting to learn.

 

[TheMrMuscle]

Push 2
Tuesday, 14 November 2023 at 07:02

Elliptical Machine
Set 1: 10:00

Seated Cable Y-Raise
Set 1: 5 kg × 10 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 10 kg × 10 [Failure]
Set 3: 5 kg × 15 [Failure]

Hammer Strength Incline Press
Set 1: 40 kg × 10 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 60 kg × 4 [Warm-up]
Set 3: 80 kg × 6 [Failure]
Set 4: 60 kg × 15 [Failure]

Prime Shoulder Press
Set 1: 40 kg × 8 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 60 kg × 4 [Warm-up]
Set 3: 75 kg × 7 [Failure]
Set 4: 60 kg × 14 [Failure]

Standing Close Grip Press
Set 1: 60 kg × 4 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 80 kg × 6 [Failure]
Set 3: 60 kg × 16 [Failure]

Chest Fly (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 15 kg × 8 [Failure]

Hammer Strength Mts Triceps Extension
Set 1: 30 kg × 12 [Failure]
Set 2: 20 kg × 22 [Failure]

Lateral Raise (Pad Machine)
Set 1: 46 kg × 8 [Failure]
Set 2: 32 kg × 18 [Failure]

Vertical Calf Press Integrated Partials
Set 1: 0 kg × 10 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 25 kg × 14 [Failure]
Set 3: 25 kg × 14 [Failure]

Hanging Leg Raise
Set 1: 10 reps [Failure]
Set 2: 8 reps [Failure]

Stairs
Set 1: 10:00

Stretching
Set 1: 15:00

So my body is slowly getting back to normal. Sunday was the first day where my workout seemed to get better, yesterday was a little better and same today. Tomorrow is a day off so im betting that by Thursday I will be back to 100%.

Strength is still lagging a bit behind but pumps are good and energy is getting better!

 

[LeanEngineer]

pumps are good and energy is getting better!

It's all about the pump!

 

[TheMrMuscle]

So Ive had some great workouts the last couple of days and it feels like my body is back to normal. Ive ofcourse been eating all my food and supps even though i was under the weather and im positive they have helped me bounche back.

This weekend i ran the Pump Addict + Super Swole PWO stack and the workouts were on another level. I cant really explain how good you feel on that stack. Im at 3/4 of a serving of Pump Addict and that seems to be my sweet spot! Cant wait for the weekend to come around so that i can give it another go.

 

[LeanEngineer]

Pump Addict + Super Swole PWO stack and the workouts were on another level

Those two combined I can't even imagine the pump you had!

 

[TheMrMuscle]

Ive mentioned before that we have 2 dogs. Well for a month now we are dog sitting a third. We have slowly been introducing him to our dogs and he has now spent 2 full days and nights here. First night he was a bit unsure, but last night they all 3 slept peacfully (in our bed, so its getting cramped).

My two dogs Julian and Conrad as Chinese Crested breed, so they are id say medium size around 6-8kgs. The one we are sitting is a Pomeranian called Lukas and he is SOOOO tiny and light. He cant weigh more than a kilo if that.

This is them. Julian, Conrad and Lukas.

 

[sns8778]

I love Pomeranians. Very cute pic.

 

[Beau]

Subbed

 

[LeanEngineer]

(in our bed, so its getting cramped).

My golden retriever has to be right up against my legs when she sleeps so it feels cramped in our king size bed even though we have room

 

[akboom87]

So Ive had some great workouts the last couple of days and it feels like my body is back to normal. Ive ofcourse been eating all my food and supps even though i was under the weather and im positive they have helped me bounche back.

This weekend i ran the Pump Addict + Super Swole PWO stack and the workouts were on another level. I cant really explain how good you feel on that stack. Im at 3/4 of a serving of Pump Addict and that seems to be my sweet spot! Cant wait for the weekend to come around so that i can give it another go.

I have pump addict coming my way, pretty excited to give this a go!

 

[LeanEngineer]

I have pump addict coming my way, pretty excited to give this a go!

Awesome! One of my favorite pres on the market for sure!

Pump Addict Ultra Hardcore by Muscle Addiction

Pump Addict Ultra Hardcore by Muscle Addiction is a new pre workout that is made for the hardcores that are addicted to the pump!

www.strongsupplementshop.com

 

[TheMrMuscle]

I love Pomeranians. Very cute pic.

Ive never really been around any Pomeranians before, but this one is a sweet heart. He has taken to all of us really well, so every time i sit down he wants up in my lap. The guy is SO light its a bit disturbing haha.

My golden retriever has to be right up against my legs when she sleeps so it feels cramped in our king size bed even though we have room

Haha yeah retrievers are a bit bigger than my tiny ones.

I have pump addict coming my way, pretty excited to give this a go!

You are gonna love it! Id recommend starting with one scoop and working your way up. Ive found that 11g (1 and 1/2 scoop) is perfect for me. I did 2 scoops this Sunday and while it felt good, i prefer the feeling on 11g.

 

[sns8778]

Ive never really been around any Pomeranians before, but this one is a sweet heart. He has taken to all of us really well, so every time i sit down he wants up in my lap. The guy is SO light its a bit disturbing haha.

They're little fluff balls, normally with a lot of personality haha.

Now you're making me want another one haha.

 

[TheMrMuscle]

November 2023 Maintanance Report
1,5 months of:
Anabolic Effect, Anabolic XT, Pepti-Plex, Phosphatidic Acid XT, GlycoPhase, Pump Gel, Super Swole and Pump Addict

Its now been 1,5 months since i started this log and November is over. Which mean is time for an update.
This part of the run was done with maintenance calories in mind. I had been on maintenance calories since May and wanted to see how adding this stack would compare to not running it.

Right off the bat I can say that the stack makes you FEEL really good. To be honest I was mostly excited for how my mind would react to this stack. Ive been struggeling mentally for a while this year. Im not one to talk about this or complain about anything. But Ive been feeling run down, in a rutt, not enjoying much outside my workouts and sleeping. This is not like me, so I was hoping to get a bit more oumph in my stride and let me tell you, I got it.

Its hard to describe, but after a short week I already began feeling more optimistic, more joyful and had much more mental (and physical) energy. This effect on its own makes the supplements worth its weight in gold for me.

But let us look at the more tangible effect that I can actually put a number to.

Bodyweight

This is a easy graph showing all my weigh ins over the period. It gives the illusion that there has been no changes.
But if we look at the trending bodyweight we will see that there is a difference.
0,6kg weight increase without adding more calories to be exact.

Weight Trend is something MacroFactor calculates and it describes it as:
"Your weight trend highlights meaningful changes in weight, free from large swings due to transient weight fluctuations related to total body water and gastrointestinal contents, and other factors. "

At the same time my expenditure has actually decreased, which makes it even more interesting to see my weight trending up.

Expenditure is something MacroFactor calculates and describes as:
"A deterministic calculation based on your calorie intake and change in trend weight."

DIET

My diet has been on point as always, but as you can see I have had a some high and some VERY HIGH caloric days. These are days when we calabrate something or i take my family out. I tend to enjoy myself extra much on those days.

Performance

It didnt take long for me to really notice performance improvments in the gym.
A better pump came first of course, followed by longer time to fatigue and after a couple of weeks strength gains really started showing up. Ive been steadily improving all my lifts during this period. Had a slight setback when i got sick for a week. But I bounced back right away.

Bottom line
This stack has, without increasing calories, giving me a boost both physically and mentally. Which for a guy like me who have been training for over 30 years is definitely something to write home about! We also know that many of the natural products often need a month or so to really kick in. So we are just getting to the really good stuff now!

The 1st of December I started my lean bulk, its time to see what these supps do in a surplus!
I will put up a detailed post about my lean bulk and how it is structured later in the week.​

 

[timmy8888]

Awesome progress especially for how well seasoned you are in the gym and glad you are feeling alot like your normally self. You are always on point and meticulous in a good way and appreciate all the transparency. Not that you can tell directly but do you see any ingredient or supplement that stuck out that help changed your mood or mindset? I staggered pepti-plex to try and gauge any changes and noticed improvement in my mood recovery etc.... Since taking anabolic effect for 2 weeks that alpha feeling in the gym has definitely been more noticeable and as a added bonus (?) I'm usually the more non social type person but do seem to be more outgoing and talkative since starting.

I'm having the opposite effect as im still losing weight trying to figure out my maintenance, hitting 3570 calories this past week (not really complaining per say). Taking everything but pump addict hard-core and anabolic xt( added glycer pump figured i would add some temp water weight due hyper hydration aspect of the supplement), sadly still losing weight.

 

[TheMrMuscle]

Awesome progress especially for how well seasoned you are in the gym and glad you are feeling alot like your normally self. You are always on point and meticulous in a good way and appreciate all the transparency. Not that you can tell directly but do you see any ingredient or supplement that stuck out that help changed your mood or mindset? I staggered pepti-plex to try and gauge any changes and noticed improvement in my mood recovery etc.... Since taking anabolic effect for 2 weeks that alpha feeling in the gym has definitely been more noticeable and as a added bonus (?) I'm usually the more non social type person but do seem to be more outgoing and talkative since starting.

I'm having the opposite effect as im still losing weight trying to figure out my maintenance, hitting 3570 calories this past week (not really complaining per say). Taking everything but pump addict hard-core and anabolic xt( added glycer pump figured i would add some temp water weight due hyper hydration aspect of the supplement), sadly still losing weight.

Thank you brother!

Yeah one of the down sides of doing a monster stack is like you mentioned, its hard to really tell what supplement is doing what. But based on experience I would say that Anabolic Effect and Anabolic XT probably are the ones that are really boosting my mood and just makes me feel good. Also on the weekends when I take Pump Addict Hardcore I feel incredible.

You might just have to do a solid jump in calories to get in the surplus you want. I do like increasing by increments, but thats not always the best way. Your metabolism might be ramping up, who knows. I cant remember but are you using any app to track your weight and food?

 

[Resolve10]

All looks and sounds pretty good, I appreciate the in depth review.

The craziness of the MF algos will calm down the longer you go, it is still kind of figuring you out with those crazy swings. Looks good though.

I do find AXT has the most notable impact on mood out of the things you are using in this stack.

 

[TheMrMuscle]

All looks and sounds pretty good, I appreciate the in depth review.

The craziness of the MF algos will calm down the longer you go, it is still kind of figuring you out with those crazy swings. Looks good though.

I do find AXT has the most notable impact on mood out of the things you are using in this stack.

I think the swings looks wilder then they are because of how the graph is structured. Its only like a 40 kcal swing. But I get what you are saying.

Yeah AXT is also new for me, so you are probably correct in that it has the most impact on the mood.

 

[Resolve10]

Ya it def smooths out the further you zoom out.

Don’t mean to clog your log with my feedback, just wanted to provide an example since I know it messed with my mind and even if you say your fine any help to appease annoying thoughts I felt could be helpful.

If you look you can see it was kind of violent for me when I came back after a year plus break. If you zoom in you can also see there’s less area of “guesstimate” zone around the line as it goes too.

 

[TheMrMuscle]

Ya it def smooths out the further you zoom out.

Don’t mean to clog your log with my feedback, just wanted to provide an example since I know it messed with my mind and even if you say your fine any help to appease annoying thoughts I felt could be helpful.

If you look you can see it was kind of violent for me when I came back after a year plus break. If you zoom in you can also see there’s less area of “guesstimate” zone around the line as it goes too.

Dude your knowledge is something people would pay for. So having it given freely is always appreciated.

Yeah mine look crazy too when i look at my whole time with the app. Ill be very curious to see how it adapts to my new caloric surplus.

 

[timmy8888]

Thank you brother!

Yeah one of the down sides of doing a monster stack is like you mentioned, its hard to really tell what supplement is doing what. But based on experience I would say that Anabolic Effect and Anabolic XT probably are the ones that are really boosting my mood and just makes me feel good. Also on the weekends when I take Pump Addict Hardcore I feel incredible.

You might just have to do a solid jump in calories to get in the surplus you want. I do like increasing by increments, but thats not always the best way. Your metabolism might be ramping up, who knows. I cant remember but are you using any app to track your weight and food?

My fitness pal for free version(I type in all my food sources for more accurate calories). Use my weightfit to track daily weight. Other than the occasional cheat meal eating out at a restaurant I try to replicate calories best I can and most days eat the same thing just more of them, now that im trying to maintain.


Definitely have more energy since increasing calories and adding anabolic effect so sure neat is up as well as my willingness to be more active. Plan doing yearly subscription of macrofactor start of the new year. 3 weeks ago I went from 2460 my cutting calories to 3313 to try and gauge what my maintenance was without trying to over do it. Increased over a 100 ever week. Maybe should aim to add in 250 extra calories this week?

Certainly interested in trying pump addict hardcore, all I ever hear is great things.

 

[TheMrMuscle]

My fitness pal for free version(I type in all my food sources for more accurate calories). Use my weightfit to track daily weight. Other than the occasional cheat meal eating out at a restaurant I try to replicate calories best I can and most days eat the same thing just more of them, now that im trying to maintain.


Definitely have more energy since increasing calories and adding anabolic effect so sure neat is up as well as my willingness to be more active. Plan doing yearly subscription of macrofactor start of the new year. 3 weeks ago I went from 2460 my cutting calories to 3313 to try and gauge what my maintenance was without trying to over do it. Increased over a 100 ever week. Maybe should aim to add in 250 extra calories this week?

Certainly interested in trying pump addict hardcore, all I ever hear is great things.

Sounds like you have a good control over everything you do, thats great. Its much easier to anticipate what to do next when you have a log of everything you have done.

My experience when going into a bulk is that the first month weight gain might not come "fast enough" but then its like a switch gets turned and all of sudden you gain 5 pounds over the weekend, and it doesnt go away. So just keep doing what you are doing imo.

When you start MacoFactor you can backlog your calories a couple of months, that way the algorithm will have enough data to kick in immediately. Will be very interesting to see what numbers it gives you.

 

[timmy8888]

Sounds like you have a good control over everything you do, thats great. Its much easier to anticipate what to do next when you have a log of everything you have done.

My experience when going into a bulk is that the first month weight gain might not come "fast enough" but then its like a switch gets turned and all of sudden you gain 5 pounds over the weekend, and it doesnt go away. So just keep doing what you are doing imo.

When you start MacoFactor you can backlog your calories a couple of months, that way the algorithm will have enough data to kick in immediately. Will be very interesting to see what numbers it gives you.

Awesome, greatly appreciate the response. Will certainly do backlog and keep at what I'm doing.

 

[TheMrMuscle]

Gaining Phase Starting December 1st

So its finally here! Ive been running a Maintenance phase now since May and im finally ready to switch over to a Gaining phase. Ive experienced what adding the supplements to a maintenance diet does, so now its time to see what adding more calories to the mix will do.

DIET

Ive mentioned before that i use MacroFactor as my diet app where i log all my food.
It also has a coaching mode that can help determin calories based on your coals.
So I switched over to a gaining phase and chose my rate of gains as such:

Now this is a bit of a low rate of gains, but I have a reason for it.
December is a special month where there will be more food outside of the diet than other months. So i expect to exceed my weekly calories at least the last two weeks. So I found it better to keep the regular food a bit lower this month, then for January i will probably increase it to 1% BW/Month.

I like to carb/calorie cycle, so I went with that here as well.
Wednesday is my rest day so i kept that a bit lower.
Rest of the weekdays i went a bit higher as they are all workout days.
Weekends I went highest as I have my favorite workouts then. Plus I can easily get a bit more hungry since im not at work those days and when just relaxing i have a tendency to get a bit more food focuses.

Now like i mentioned I will indulge in christmas foods and not worry about the calories when that happens. I will log as precicely as possible so that MacroFactor gets all the data it needs and can update its algorithms.

Training as supplements will be the same. Hopefully i can add some intensifiers or an extra set or two after a while.

My plan so far is to do a 4 month Gaining Phase, but I will pay attention to the changes in my body and at the end of every month see if i need to change anything. MacroFactor will continously change my calories based on how my weight changes as my calories increases,​

 

[LeanEngineer]

Gaining Phase Starting December 1st

So its finally here! Ive been running a Maintenance phase now since May and im finally ready to switch over to a Gaining phase. Ive experienced what adding the supplements to a maintenance diet does, so now its time to see what adding more calories to the mix will do.

DIET

Ive mentioned before that i use MacroFactor as my diet app where i log all my food.
It also has a coaching mode that can help determin calories based on your coals.
So I switched over to a gaining phase and chose my rate of gains as such:

View attachment 238474

Now this is a bit of a low rate of gains, but I have a reason for it.
December is a special month where there will be more food outside of the diet than other months. So i expect to exceed my weekly calories at least the last two weeks. So I found it better to keep the regular food a bit lower this month, then for January i will probably increase it to 1% BW/Month.

View attachment 238475

I like to carb/calorie cycle, so I went with that here as well.
Wednesday is my rest day so i kept that a bit lower.
Rest of the weekdays i went a bit higher as they are all workout days.
Weekends I went highest as I have my favorite workouts then. Plus I can easily get a bit more hungry since im not at work those days and when just relaxing i have a tendency to get a bit more food focuses.

Now like i mentioned I will indulge in christmas foods and not worry about the calories when that happens. I will log as precicely as possible so that MacroFactor gets all the data it needs and can update its algorithms.

Training as supplements will be the same. Hopefully i can add some intensifiers or an extra set or two after a while.

My plan so far is to do a 4 month Gaining Phase, but I will pay attention to the changes in my body and at the end of every month see if i need to change anything. MacroFactor will continously change my calories based on how my weight changes as my calories increases,​

Love the detail in this log!

 

[timmy8888]

Gaining Phase Starting December 1st

So its finally here! Ive been running a Maintenance phase now since May and im finally ready to switch over to a Gaining phase. Ive experienced what adding the supplements to a maintenance diet does, so now its time to see what adding more calories to the mix will do.

DIET

Ive mentioned before that i use MacroFactor as my diet app where i log all my food.
It also has a coaching mode that can help determin calories based on your coals.
So I switched over to a gaining phase and chose my rate of gains as such:

View attachment 238474

Now this is a bit of a low rate of gains, but I have a reason for it.
December is a special month where there will be more food outside of the diet than other months. So i expect to exceed my weekly calories at least the last two weeks. So I found it better to keep the regular food a bit lower this month, then for January i will probably increase it to 1% BW/Month.

View attachment 238475

I like to carb/calorie cycle, so I went with that here as well.
Wednesday is my rest day so i kept that a bit lower.
Rest of the weekdays i went a bit higher as they are all workout days.
Weekends I went highest as I have my favorite workouts then. Plus I can easily get a bit more hungry since im not at work those days and when just relaxing i have a tendency to get a bit more food focuses.

Now like i mentioned I will indulge in christmas foods and not worry about the calories when that happens. I will log as precicely as possible so that MacroFactor gets all the data it needs and can update its algorithms.

Training as supplements will be the same. Hopefully i can add some intensifiers or an extra set or two after a while.

My plan so far is to do a 4 month Gaining Phase, but I will pay attention to the changes in my body and at the end of every month see if i need to change anything. MacroFactor will continously change my calories based on how my weight changes as my calories increases,​

Looking forward to seeing the results/progress over the next 4 months.

 

[TheMrMuscle]

Weekly Report 04.December - 10.December
Week 1 of Bulk

Diet:
(Everything tracked in MacroFactor)

No deviations in my diet this week, everything on point.
My daily intake is around 100 kcal higher pr day in comparison to when i started this log.

Scale Weight and Trend Weight:
(Weight and body fat measured on a FitBit Aria Scale every morning)

Trend weight is staying pretty stable as my body gets used to a bit more calories.
But my TDEE is also slowly increasing as my food is going up.

Recovery and exertion:
(Measured with my Apple Watch that I wear all day and night)
(Recovery is based on HRV and RHR)

Had un uptick in recovery this week which is always great!

Comments:
Ive now had 9 days in caloric surplus and everything is has gone great.
It was such a small caloric increase i didnt really expect much. But its always nice to be able to eat more!

Next week:
So seeing as nothing much changed with my bodyweight MacroFactor gave me a slight increase in calories for next week.
It makes sense seeing as my TDEE is right under 3100 kcals right now, which means that im basically only eating over that on Saturday and Sundays. This will probably give some more fuel to the fire.

On Thursday night I am going out to dinner with my family to this new Italian place.
I WILL eat way over my daily calories on that day and ill love it.

 

[TheMrMuscle]

Legs 1
Monday, 11 December 2023 at 07:28

Elliptical Machine
Set 1: 10:00

Seated Calf Raise (Plate Loaded)
Set 1: 20 kg × 10 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 40 kg × 5 [Warm-up]
Set 3: 50 kg × 11 [Failure]
Set 4: 40 kg × 15 [Failure]

Hammer Strength Lying Leg Curl
Set 1: 32 kg × 10 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 46 kg × 5 [Warm-up]
Set 3: 53 kg × 11 [Failure]
Set 4: 44 kg × 15 [Failure]

Single leg Ext Legendary
Set 1: 5 kg × 15 [Failure]
Set 2: 5 kg × 14 [Failure]

Belt Squat
Set 1: 60 kg × 5 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 90 kg × 11 [Failure]
Set 3: 70 kg × 16 [Failure]

Lunge (Barbell)
Set 1: 25 kg × 10
Set 2: 25 kg × 10

Dc Standing Calf Raise
Set 1: 25 kg × 5 [Warm-up]
Set 2: 50 kg × 11 [Failure]

Side Plank
Set 1: 1:00
Set 2: 1:00

Plank
Set 1: 1:00
Set 2: 1:00

Wrist Roller
Set 1: 2,5 kg × 4 [Failure]
Set 2: 2,5 kg × 2 [Failure]

Cycling (Indoor)
Set 1: 1:00
Set 2: 1:00
Set 3: 1:00

Skierg
Set 1: 1:00
Set 2: 1:00
Set 3: 1:00

Stretching
Set 1: 15:00

So Ive decided to give HIIT a try during this bulking phase. I saw a great video from John Jewett on this topic and wanted to give it a try.

HIIT vs Steady State // Offseason Bodybuilder Cardio (youtube.com)

He gives very many good reasons for it in the video, but most of them are aimed at people who are really pushing weight and food. But it got me thinking of my cardiovascular health. I do NO cardio at all. Yeah i do warmups and cool downs on the stairs and eliptical and i walk 15k steps a day. But my pulse is never over 100 bpm during that.

So based on Johns advice I chose Stationary bike and the SkiErg. I do 1 minute on, 1 minute off. Switching between machines. So a total of 6 working sets. Pretty basic and not complicated. Had my first session today and plan to do it on my leg days, so monday and friday. Maybe ill increase to 4 times a week if i feel like it.

It was hard and I cant remember last time i was outta breath like that. But 12 minutes total is nothing. I got some great data from it as well! Seems my cardio is pretty darn good, even though I havent been training with that in mind.

 

[Resolve10]

Everything looks very solid. I am definitely that annoying guy who judges people for never doing cardio, so now you can be off my "list".

 

[TheMrMuscle]

Everything looks very solid. I am definitely that annoying guy who judges people for never doing cardio, so now you can be off my "list".

Haha, glad im off that list! Im thinking HIIT might be a great thing while in a surplus when I have the ability to recover. But if and when I switch over to a cut, then maybe steady state is the way to go.

 

[Resolve10]

Haha, glad im off that list! Im thinking HIIT might be a great thing while in a surplus when I have the ability to recover. But if and when I switch over to a cut, then maybe steady state is the way to go.

Ya I think it is important to remember why you choose certain cardio, adaptations may differ depending on intensity.

I think most people probably don't keep the HR in the right ranges for things which is why they may have issues. I was trying to find my fancy chart, but I don't seem to have it on this computer so maybe I'll link later.

 

[LeanEngineer]

HR in the right ranges for things which is why they may have issues

I might be a culprit of this. I think I need to start trying to get my heart rate in the right ranges for cardiovascular/heart purposes. I tend to walk on the treadmill doing steady state but that doesn't get my heart rate up high enough unless I put it on a high incline and fast walk (which is what I need to be doing all the time).