DC Plan Review

[FAHall]

Hey Guys,

I've got about 4 weeks left of me leaning out to an "acceptable" level before starting full on DC mass gain. The plan is to get me to a leanness that I'm comfortable with before pushing the limits of food and training per DC. And, to keep me from overanalyzing what I'm currently doing, I'm looking ahead at what I'll do to start gaining serious amounts of muscle while keeping the fat gain to a minimum.

Basically, I'm tired of being on the small and fat hamster wheel. So, I'm getting rid of enough of the fat so that I'll be happy on the journey, and then I'm going spend as much time as it takes to get up to the muscularity I want, hold it for a year, then get ripped to shreds and stay that way.

I would appreciate it if you guys could take a look at my plan and give me suggestions before I start.

Stats:
Age: 24
Years training: 8 (4 of seriously training)
Height: 5'10"
Weight: Currently 187lbs @ ~10-12% bf. I should be about 180lbs by the time I'm done dropping fat.
Natural
Bodytype: I'm naturally about 135lbs with no visible abs...


Training plan:

A1
Smith Low Incline 11-15RP
Wide Upright Row 15-30RP
Rvs Grip Smith 15-30RP
Rvs Grip Pull-down 11-15RP
Drag Rack Deadlifts 4-8, 8-12
Weight Sit-ups 15-30ss

B1
Preacher Curl 15-30RP
Cross Body Curl 2x10-20ss
Seated Calf Raise 10-12
Lying Leg Curl 15-30RP
Leg Press 8-12, Widowmaker
Back Extension 10-50
Leg Raises 15-30

A2
HS Flat 15-30RP
Smith High Incline 11-15RP
1 arm DB extension 15-30RP
Neutral Pull-down 11-15RP
Deadlift 6-10, 10-15
Ab Wheel 15-50

B2
Machine Preacher Curl 15-30RP
Reverse Curl 2x10-20
Stand Calf 11-20SS
Standing Leg Curl 15-30RP
Squat 6-10, WM
Back Ext. 1x10-50
Leg Raise Machine 15-30

Workout A3
DB Flat Bench 15-30RP
HS Shoulder 15-30RP
Smith CGBP 10-15RP
Plate Loaded Pull-Down 10-15RP
T-Bar 6-10, 10-15
Ab Machine 15-30SS

Workout B3
Standing BB Curl 15-30RP
Hammer Preacher 2x10-20
LP Calf 10-20SS
Hack Squat 6-10, WM
Goodmornings** 6-10, 10-15
Back Ext. 1x30-50
Full Leg Raise 10-50


** These aren't heavy at all. I did 65lbsx10 the other day real slow and controlled and my hamstrings were absolutely destroyed.

Warm-ups - I do some light stretching followed by shoulder/rotator cuff warm-ups before training. I ramp up thoroughly to my working weight on each exercise.

Extreme Stretches - I do the extreme stretches immediately after the exercise for that muscle.

Cardio - 20 minute AM walk on empty stomach 4x per week (off days).


Diet plan:

Non-Training Day:

Meal 1
3 Scoops Whey
2 cup Oatmeal

Meal 2
3 Scoops Whey
2 cup Oatmeal

Meal 3
150g Chicken
2 cups Rice*

Meal 4
150g Chicken
2 cups Rice*

Meal 5
150g Lean Beef (Sirloin or Rinsed Ground)
Veggies
Light salad dressing

Meal 6
150g Lean Beef (Sirloin or Rinsed Ground)
Veggies
Light salad dressing


*Rice mixed with tomato sauce or soup broth for flavor/moisture.




Training Day

Meal 1, 1.5, & 2 (A big shake consumed as before, during, and after training meal)

8 scoops Whey
200g Kid's Cereal

Meal 3
150g Chicken
2 cups Rice*

Meal 4
150g Chicken
2 cups Rice*

Meal 5
150g Lean Beef (Sirloin or Rinsed Ground)
Veggies
Light salad dressing

Meal 6
150g Lean Beef (Sirloin or Rinsed Ground)
Veggies
Light salad dressing


*Rice mixed with tomato sauce or soup broth for flavor/moisture.


** All food measured/weighed as cooked.

Water - 2+ Gallons daily (sometimes as plain Green Tea)

Supplements
True Protein 3-a-day multi
Fish oil - 10g per day

Cheat Meals - I'll have a cheat meal 1x per week as a date night with my wife. Holidays will also be "looser" while still pounding down plenty of protein.



I'm open to any suggestions you guys have.

[plateau]

I'd skip the pushdowns, and pick a more compound move - you say you get elbow pain, I do get this too, but most compounds are easier for me.

I'd be careful on preacher and extension work given elbow issues, maybe up the range to 20-30 for these.

What have you tried previously that causes pain?

[Carlito Gambino]

IMO your shoulder movements are far too front delt dominant. Add in a standing press or push press, or go for a wide grip upright row or high pull.
As for elbow pain, I think it's a better idea to go for CG and reverse grip benching, instead of extension type movements because those tend to cause more elbow problems. However, I've had a bit of elbow problems from extension movements myself and have found that lying tricep extensions with an EZ bar do not cause any sort of problems. I do them like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1AZebtYyA0

[FAHall]

I'd skip the pushdowns, and pick a more compound move - you say you get elbow pain, I do get this too, but most compounds are easier for me.

I'd be careful on preacher and extension work given elbow issues, maybe up the range to 20-30 for these.

What have you tried previously that causes pain?

The elbow pain comes specifically when I do too much pressing volume for an extended period of time. I get acute pain on the posterior lateral side of the right elbow. Right in that deep pocket formed by extending the back of your hand towards your elbow. A quick look at an anatomy chart indicates it's slightly below the lateral epicondyle.

That said, if I drop one of the shoulder pressing movements and replace it with an upright row, I could fit another press in for triceps likely without issue.

I'll drop the Cybex Shoulder Press and the Pushdowns and replace them with:

Wide Grip Upright Rows 15-30RP
Reverse Grip Smith Bench 11-20RP


Should kill two birds with one stone

* Original post edited.

[BrianB2368]

boo on the supported t-bar. putting a bar in the corner will be better so you don't lose your breath before your muscles get fatiqued. It can just be a lot of weight around your chest and make breathing even harder.

What's up with all the extensions and lower back work instead of leg curl variations for hamstring? You can obviously stick with the back extensions, just pay attention to how your lower back is feeling. I'm not sure how good back extensions after squats and a widowmaker would feel.

Abs at the end of a workout can be tough, especially after legs. Getting them in 2-3x per week on off days is acceptable.

Those are my only comments. Everything else looks great, and I agree on the elbow and shoulder comments.

Congrats on being married, I hope everything is well with you.

[FAHall]

boo on the supported t-bar. putting a bar in the corner will be better so you don't lose your breath before your muscles get fatiqued. It can just be a lot of weight around your chest and make breathing even harder.

What's up with all the extensions and lower back work instead of leg curl variations for hamstring? You can obviously stick with the back extensions, just pay attention to how your lower back is feeling. I'm not sure how good back extensions after squats and a widowmaker would feel.

Abs at the end of a workout can be tough, especially after legs. Getting them in 2-3x per week on off days is acceptable.

Those are my only comments. Everything else looks great, and I agree on the elbow and shoulder comments.

Congrats on being married, I hope everything is well with you.

Hey Brian!

Things are going quite well. Living in Austin, TX at the moment.

How about yourself? What are you up to these days? Troponin Nutritionist, awesome, when did that happen? Any competitions coming up?

On to your suggestions:

1. Drop Supported T-bar for regular - Will do. I love regular T-bar rows, but was trying to plan in some reprieve for my low back. Though, these have never really taxed my low back as much as squats (see #3)

2. My hamstring exercises are: Lying Leg Curl, a "standing leg curl" which is really this machine called a Hamflexor... It's an older version of this: http://www.startrac.com/Includes/get...c.scale640.jpg , and good mornings

I can replace Good mornings with seated leg curls 15-30RP if you see no issue with having 3 leg curl variations.

3. Back Extensions - These are included because my low-back is the limiting factor in squats. I can do one heavy set, and then my low-back is spent. The squat widowmaker is torturous to my low-back, not my quads. My thought was to strengthen the low back by adding in a set of back extensions at the end of my low-body workouts. Nothing intense, just one set well shy of failure. I'm working on my flexibility to see if this shores up the problem, but so far no luck. I can switch out the squat widowmaker for a less low-back intensive widowmaker such as somersault squats, but this makes me feel like a pansy trying to avoid squatting hard and heavy.

Thoughts?

4. Abs - I'll do these when I am stuck waiting for a machine. If that doesn't happen during my entire workout (oh, happy day) then I'll stick them at the end. And, as you mention getting them in on off days is acceptable. If I'm so nauseated as to be unable to hit abs after legs, then I'll come in on an off day. I'd prefer to keep my trips to the gym to a minimum to save time.


Thanks,
-Alex

[plateau]

IMO your shoulder movements are far too front delt dominant. Add in a standing press or push press, or go for a wide grip upright row or high pull.

Obviously don't want to start an arguement on a friendly site like this but standing press or push presses are front delt dominant exercises. I understand the other possible substitutes but this doesn't make sense to me.

[Carlito Gambino]

I disagree. Seated presses, yeah, I would agree. But if you look at the mechanics of a proper press (arms extending behind the head, basically), you'd see that lateral delts are worked very well (I'm talking form like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJFjYyA40ss). Hell, if you're doing them like this then yeah, it's very front delt dominant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxXWLI5AjLY (no disrespect at all to Wendler, the man's pressing 240 for reps, I have yet to achieve that but it's more to show what I'm referring to).

[plateau]

Yeah I would agree once the bar is behind the head the medial (or lateral) will start working, But that's a relatively small part of the exercise's ROM. Behind the head stuff always felt like my medial delts were working a lot harder than normal - not that I have done that exercise for years...

Will probably add seated DB shoulder press, chest on the pad into this blast and see how my medial delts respond to these. Have you had any success from these?

[Carlito Gambino]

Yeah I would agree once the bar is behind the head the medial (or lateral) will start working, But that's a relatively small part of the exercise's ROM. Behind the head stuff always felt like my medial delts were working a lot harder than normal - not that I have done that exercise for years...

Will probably add seated DB shoulder press, chest on the pad into this blast and see how my medial delts respond to these. Have you had any success from these?

Admittedly it might not be a huge part of the ROM, but it does help. Regardless, any sort of press will still work the lateral delt to a very good extent so maybe I'm just overanalyzing things.

As for seated DB press, sure, go for it. I like DB presses a lot, I especially like DB push presses (one arm at a time, do them like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNvO6EHcM08, though I prefer having my arm a little closer to my ear). I wouldn't RP those though, just go for 1-3 straight sets. The reason these are so good is because in doing it you get a slight bit of torso lean which changes the dynamics of the lockout. It encourages far more lateral delt involvement than doing it with a barbell. This rings true for any sort of DB pressing though, so seated or standing doesn't really matter that much (I prefer standing).
As for BTN neck stuff, yes it will recruit more lateral delt if the research on the movement is anything to go by. Obviously it's a risky exercise, and the only way I'd do them in the traditional fashion is in a Smythe (like Levrone). BTN push presses are interesting as well, and probably won't fuck with your shoulders because the most dangerous part of the movement is initiated by leg drive. The landing takes some getting used to though, and I've only experimented with it and I've never used it as a real delt movement...though I might in the future.

[BrianB2368]

Alex, I've been working with Troponin since last November or so. No competitions coming up for me. Texas sounds really cool. I'm glad to hear that things are well with you.
The idea with strengthening your lower back sounds good to me. That is a fairly interesting idea to me why your lower back hasn't been strong enough. The extra lower back work is probably where I'd start as well. I would also focus on form and pushing out of the hole with your hips. After that I would also put some emphasis on core-work doing things like planks.
I completely agree on saving time as well.

[FAHall]

Thanks for the help guys.

I'll start up a journal in the next few weeks once I switch gears.

Again, I appreciate the support.

-Alex