2011-12-17 Check in [205.5 @ 35.25]

Mass:  205.5 (+2.75)
Waist:  35.25 (+0.25)
arm:  16.0 (--)
thigh:  24.875 (+0.25)
calf:  15.0 (--)

The mass gain is nice, the waist gain is not.  However, I am not very surprised.  Ginormous meal at Famous Dave's on Sunday, increased food intake, and no cardio.

To help minimize the waist gain, I will do cardio at least twice this week.  Really I will.  *wry grin*

Anyhow, I have made a deal with myself that I will continue gaining mass until one of the following occurs:
A) March comes around.  Which would give me 10 weeks, enough time to finish two more 5/3/1 cycles
B) I hit 220#
C) My jeans no longer fit (probably another inch or so on my waist)

Last year, doing the Shelby diet with Wendi took me from 207.0# & 36.5" waist down to 178.5# & 31.375" waist.  I do not have my other measurements from the start of the diet, but at the end my arm was 15.75", thigh 23.0", calf 14.375", chest 41.25".

I am not certain whether or not I will contract Shelby for a fat loss cycle again.  I am seriously considering it, but it depends upon finances.  If I cannot afford him, I will probably pick up some of his e-books, just to have as a reference.

2011-12-11 Check in [202.75 @ 35.0]

Mass:  202.75 (+0.75)
Waist:  35.0 (+0.125)
Arm:  16.5 (-0.125)
Thigh:  24.625 (--)
Calf:  15.0 (--)

So, up a tiny bit on mass & waist.  The waist I believe is just bloat (feels like it).  So, increasing food again.  Last week's diet was roughly:
meal 1, 3, 4:  40p + 60c
meal 2,5: 40p + 30f
intra-workout:  25g BCAA
post-workout:  Surge Recovery
with some random extras tossed in (ex:  cheese on sandwiches, fruit, etc).
Also, Sunday evening I pigged out at Outback (1 loaf of bread, a chicken finger, small chicken quesadilla, side salad, french dip + fries, 1/2 an order of chicken flatbread).  Tuesday was dinner at Coopersmith's (onion rings, Shepard's pie).

So, prospective diet for this week:
meal 1,3,4:  50p + 60c + 10f
meal 2,5:  50p + 30f
intra-workout:  25g BCAA + 1 scoop SWOF (if I run out of SWOF, waxy maize)
post-workout:  Surge Recovery
So, adding in 50p & 30f per day

And if I get hungry/feel crashed, I will eat more.  Mass gaining is not as clear cut a process as fat loss.  Ah well.
===============
Axe the prospective diet.  The increased meal size make me feel unpleasantly over-full.  So instead, on workout days I will have an additional 40p + 60c meal.  With four of those over the week, that will give me about 3200 kCal more, which is in line with a 1# increase.

Also, it will add to calorie-cycling more.  Lifting days will have 90p + 110c more than non-lifting days.  So prospective diet:
All Days:

meal 1, 3, 4:  40p + 60c
meal 2,5: 40p + 30f

Lifting days
meal X: 40p + 60c (sometime before final meal of the day)
intra-workout:  25g BCAA
post-workout:  Surge Recovery

2011-12-04 Check in [202.0@ 34.875]

Mass:  202.0 (+2.0)
Waist:  34.875 (--)
Arm:  16.625 (+0.125)
Thigh:  24.625 (+0.125)
Calf:  15.0 (--)

Not too bad.  Gained 2#, with no waist increase.  So, I am going to stick to my current diet.
Meal 1:  40p + 60c
Meal 2:  40p + 30f
Meal 3:  40p + 60c
PWO shake:  25p + 50c
Meal 4:  40p + 60c
Meal 5:  40p + 30f

Honestly, I go over with the protein a bit, so the meals fall between 40-50p, depending upon what I am eating.

This week (Mon & Wed) will finish off my deload.  Friday I will begin my next cycle.  Instead of swapping out most of the exercises I had planned, I am going to just change the order around (ex:  Military press, then biceps, then DBOH, etc) to give myself more rest.  I will probably stick to a 4-day per week rotation, unless I get bored and kick it up to 5 days.  Main restriction:  no deadlifts Monday or Wednesday, unless I go to the gym later than usual.  Yoga happens 4-5pm on those days, and I make a lot of noise when doing deads.

Bands, down time, and stuff

Last night I played around with bands on my bench press.  Monster mini bands, doubled up.  I have learned a few things:
1.  Do not do band work to start the session if I have a lot of volume to do.  Band presses burn me out too much
2.  I need to do more band work to force my stabilizers to get stronger.
3.  I need to pick up some short bands.  The full-size bands suck for benching, and having to double them up adds way more tension than I wanted.  This will have to wait for EliteFTS to have another sale and/or free shipping deal
4.  Bonus - short bands are good for deadlifting.  Just step into the bands and pull

This is my scheduled deload week.  And I really need it. I am utterly fragged.  My energy levels are good, my mental attitude is fully engaged in lifting, I have minimal if any soreness, but my muscles are trashed.  So I am going to be taking it easy this week. Lifting Wednesday, Friday, Monday, Wednesday.

When I start my new cycle next Friday, I will probably stick to a four day per week rotation.  Probably Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday.  Rather than my chaotic 5-6 day/week schedule.  And on my off days, as I will be twitchy, I will just do cardio and/or chop wood.

Golden Ratio

My theoretical "golden ratio" (aka - ideal) proportions based upon Steve Reeves & other stuff.

Snagged from John Romaniello:  http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/how_to_look_freakin_awesome

Base measurements

Wrist:  7.0"

Waist:  31.0" (estimating, based upon previous states)

Knee:  14.0"

calculated numbers (how much I need to increase to get there)

Arm:  17.625" (+1.125)

Calf:  17.625" (+2.625) - yes, I have scrawny calves

Neck:  17.625" (1.875) - neck similarly skinny

Shoulder:  50.0" (+2.0)

Thigh:  24.5" (+0.0)

Chest:  46.5" (+3.5) [not mentioned, my goal is waist * 1.5]

So, yeah, lots of work required.  More food!

2011-11-27 Check in [200.0 @ 34.875] - Maintenance Level

mass:  200.0 (--)
waist:  34.875 (--)
arm:  16.5 (+0.125)
thigh:  24.5 (-0.25)
calf:  15.0 (--)

Not really any change this past week.  So, I have found my maintenance levels with lifting 4-5 times per week with no cardio.

Meal 1:  40p + 40c
Meal 2:  40p + 20f
Meal 3:  40p + 40c
PWO Shake:  25p + 50c
Meal 4:  40p + 40c
Meal 5:  40p + 20f
Totals:  225p + 170c + 40f (+/- a bit)

So, as I am in the quest to gain more mass, I will be increasing my intake slightly.  New goals:

Meal 1:  40p + 60c (add 20c)
Meal 2:  40p + 30f (add 10f)
Meal 3:  40p + 60c (add 20c)
PWO Shake:  25p + 50c
Meal 4:  40p + 60c (add 20c)
Meal 5:  40p + 30f (add 10f)
Totals:  225p + 230c + 60f (add 60c & 20f)

2011-11-20 Check in [200.0 @ 34.875]

Mass:  200.0 (-0.5)
Waist:  34.875 (--)
Arm:  16.375 (+0.125)
Thigh:  24.75 (+0.375)
Calf:  15.0 (--)

Overall, I am not disappointed with the above numbers.  This is after a week of pigging out, including way too many restaurant meals when Megan was here, and then a 1/2 week of controlling my diet.  So, being pretty much where I was two weeks ago counts as progress (last week I would have been much worse off).

I have gotten through five workouts of 5/3/1.  These were supposed to be done over 8 days, I did them in 5 (no days off).  Still, seems to be going pretty well.  High rep assistance work for bodybuilding purposes, including 20-rep overhead tricep rope extensions (these are evil).  It seems to be going well.

I am going to stick with my current meal plan for another week, and see how it goes.  Plan is as follows:

Meal 1:  40p + 40c
Meal 2:  40p + 20f
Meal 3:  40p + 40c
PWO Shake:  50c + 25p
Meal 4:  40p + 40c
Meal 5:  40p + 20f

Totals:  225p + 210c + 40f (~2100kCal based on primary macros, probably closer to 2500 with the incidentals tossed in).

I am not being uber-rigorous with my amounts (+/- 5-10g per meal), but the above is pretty close to where I am.