Originally I began body building because I looked like a malnourished Michael Jordan. I was incredibly skinny. In my early twenties, I weighed 174lbs, but at 6″1 my ideal body weight is suppose to 190lbs, and I was far from that ideal. The goal was to gain muscle without packing on unwanted body fat. I failed miserably. With an ectomorph body type, any effort to gain weight was thwarted by a flash like metabolism, and it was not until the age of 26 that I realized serious muscle gains.
To pack on the muscle, I consumed over 3,000-6,000 calories a day. I ate absolute junk. Every two hours, it was either soda, candy bars, or my beloved honey-bun. My first meal of the day was about 16 ounces of chocolate milk containing 800 calories. With all the calories I was consuming, in a span of 4 months, I went from weighing 174lbs to 210lbs, and six months after that, I ended weighing 238lbs, and the stretch marks on my inner thighs, and on my upper biceps constantly persecute me because I paid no attention to diet. At the time, I did a full body workout on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, with no cardiovascular exercise whatsoever. Although my diet was foul, I worked out with intensity. My upper, middle, and lower chest were tortured with about 275lbs with 8-10 reps (repetitions) in 4 sets. The rest of this workout routine consisted of :
100 reps for shoulders with 15-20lbs (4 sets, 25 reps/set)
100 reps for calves with about 90lbs(4 sets, 25 reps/set)
100 reps for lats with about 15-20lbs(4 sets, 25 reps/set)
100 reps for leg extensions with about 90 lbs(4 sets, 25 reps/set)
100 reps for arms and triceps with about 15-20lbs (4 sets, 25 reps/set)
500 reps of crunches with 10-25lbs directly on abdominal muscles (5 sets, 100 reps/set)
This was an exhausting workout routine that was often characterized by bouts of dizziness. Do not perform this workout unless you are in great physical shape, accompanied by a diet specifically suited for its level of intensity. The objective was to burn fat with high repetition, but despite how intense I worked out, I could not get rid of the stubborn belly fat that took great pleasure from depriving me from seeing the almighty coveted six-pack abs. This was not possible because my diet was horrific, and it was in desperate need of a bail out from good nutrition.
10 years later, at the age of 36, 225lbs of muscle, the sugary snacks and sodas are gone. They have been replaced by all natural rice and pea protein shakes. Me and my beloved honey-bun have suffered a bitter separation. As sweet as she was, I had to let her go. I left her for the almighty six-pack. Instead of chocolate milk as my first meal of the day, I drink a very nutritious shake that includes:
2 scoops of pea protein ( 50 grams)
1 teaspoon of spirulina
1 serving of raw oatmeal
1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter
3 table spoons of organic flax seed oil
1 cup of almond milk/ with 1 cup of water
1 medium sized banana
1 or 2 chunks of papaya or cantaloupe
1 tablespoon of organic or minimally processed honey
1 cap of Vitamin Code liquid vitamin
This is a very high calorie breakfast shake containing 900-1,000 calories. If your not building mass, this is inadvisable. It’s very difficult for me to gain weight, so I have to consume a lot of calories. Currently, I’m consuming over 6,000 calories a day, but for those who want to gain lean muscle without added body fat, do not add more than 500-1,000 calories to your diet. It’s important to consider your body type, and Ideal body weight. Check with a professional. In contrast, world famous bodybuilders such as Ronnie Coleman have been known to consume up to 10,000 calories a day. Wow!
Instead of working out only three times a week, now I work out 6 times a week with light (lift less than 100lbs) and heavy days, from Sunday to Saturday with Fridays off. It’s very important to change your routine, because your body can be become efficient in performing a set of exercises, and this could ultimately affect the muscle growth and fat burning. Change the routine by either using a different machine, or randomly changing the weight. I change my routine out of impulse. Instead of doing dips, I’ll do push-ups, or instead of doing moderate weights, I’ll lift heavy. Randomizing my routine is something I do about 2-3 times a week while performing any given exercise. Until I decide to change it up completely, this is my current routine:
Sunday: Chest/Back( Heavy)
Upper Chest: 4 sets, 10-12 reps,170lbs, Incline Machine
Lower Chest: 4 sets, 10-20 reps, 40lbs, Cable Crossovers
Total Chest: 4 sets, 10-15 reps, 200lbs, Butterfly Exercise
Dips: 4 sets, 8-10 reps, used my body weight, Dip Machine
Back:
Lat Pull Downs: 4 sets, 8-10 reps, 50-60lbs, Lat ,Pull Down Machine
One Arm Lat Pull Downs: 4 sets, 10-12 reps, 20lbs, Lat Pull Down Machine
Standing Lat Pulls: 4 sets,-5 25-100 reps, 50-60lbs, Tower Machine
Leverage Iso Row: 4-5 sets, 8-10 reps, 90lbs ,Hammer Strength Machine
Reverse Butterfly: 4-5 sets, 10-15reps, 50-60lbs, Butterfly Machine
Monday: Legs (Heavy)
Standing Calf: Raises 4-5 sets, 10-15 reps, 90lbs, Smith Machine
Seated Calf Raises: 4-5 sets, 10-15 reps, 60-70lbs, Seated Calf Raise Machine
Leg Press: 4-8 sets, 15-30 reps, 230lbs, Leg Press Machine
Leg Extension: 4 sets, 10-12 reps, 130lb, Leg Extension Machine
Squats: 4 sets, 10-15 reps, 50lbs, Free Weights ( By this point I’m hating life)
Tuesday:Bicpes/Triceps(Light)
Alternating Hammer Curls(left/right): 4-5 sets, 10-12 reps, 20lbs, Free Weights
Two Handle Cable Curls: 5-6 sets, 15-25 reps, 30lbs, Cable Tower
One Handed Cable Curls: 5-6 sets, 15-25 reps, 20lbs, Cable Tower
Two Handed Hammer Curls: 5-6sets, 10-15 reps, 20lbs, Hammer Curl Machine
Triceps:
Reverse Cable Curl: 5-6 sets,10-15 reps, 30lbs, Cable Tower
Reverse Hammer Curl : 5-6 sets, 10-15 reps, 40lbs, Reverse Hammer Curl Machine
Reverse Grip Tricep Pull Down: 5-6 sets, 10-15 reps, 40lbs, Cable Tower
Seated Tricep Push-down: 5-6 sets, 10-15 reps, 80lbs Seated, Tricep Push-down Machine
Wednesday: Shoulders/Traps( Light)
Barbell Shoulder Press: 4-5 sets,10-15 reps, 90lbs, Shoulder Press Machine
Shoulder Raises: 4-5 sets, 10-15 reps, 30lbs, Free Weights
Reverse Shoulder Press: 4-5 sets, 10-15 reps, 40lbs, Shoulder Press Machine
Dumbbell Shoulder Raises: 4-5 sets, 10-15 reps, 10lbs, Free Weights
Traps:
Cable Shoulder Shrugs: 5-6 sets, 25-30 reps, 90lbs, Cable Tower
Barbell Shoulder Shrugs: 5-6 sets, 25-30 reps, 90lbs, Free Weights
Dumbbell Shoulder Shrugs: 5-6 sets, 25-30 reps, 90lbs, Free Weights
Reverse Shoulder Press: 5-6 sets, 25-30 reps, 40lbs, Shoulder Press Machine
Thursday: Abs(Light)
Reverse Cable Crunches: 4-5 sets, 25-30 reps, 60-70lbs, Cable Tower
Oblique Cable Dips: 4-5 sets, 25-30 reps, 50lbs, Cable Tower
Oblique Plate Dips: 4-5 sets, 25-30 reps, 35lbs, Free Weights(Plates)
Crunches With Plate on Stomach 4-5 25-30 reps, 25lbs, Free Weights(Plates)
Saturday: Lower Back:
Back Extension( Light) 4-5 sets, 10-15 reps, 10lbs plate, Back Extension Machine
Note: First two abdominal exercises are performed everyday, followed by 30 minutes of cardio on the exercise bike or the treadmill. A 10 minute warm-up is also performed on the exercise bike.
This workout routine is intense, and it makes me feel like a world class athlete. My endurance has increased since I began this routine eight months ago. Along with my diet, I have gained 7lbs of muscle mass with very little body fat, and don’t be fooled by the light days, they are not so light.
