It’s been awhile since I posted an update for my fitness body transformation. I just wanted to write quick post to let you know that I haven’t forgotten about the updates, I’ve just been busy trying to wrap everything up, measure the results and get final pictures taken. Later this evening, I’ll post an update that will take you through the 12 week body transformation training cycle and also show (through pictures) the amount of progress that I’ve made.

Currently, I’m in the middle of enjoying a “week off” from the gym (and my diet!), where even though I’m still fitting in a few workouts and keeping my calorie intake under control, I’m not following any type of structured program. I’m really excited to share the results of this last training cycle with you as the results have been even better than I though they’d be!

Over the duration of this body transformation training cycle, I’ve been implementing the workouts and tips from my training program The Muscle Mass Advantage – in order to get a first hand view of anything that might need to be changed up a bit. So far, I’m really pleased with the results, but I’ve uncovered a few things that I definitely could do a better job of explaining in the book. I’m also really excited to share with you first hand exactly what it takes mentally to completely transform your body from flabby and out of shape to muscular and fit in only 12 weeks. A lot of people can teach you the “nuts and bolts” mechanics of the body transformation process, but few people actually tell it like it is and explain what it actually feels like to dedicate yourself to building muscle mass and burning body fat in only a few short weeks.

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

My Fitness Body Transformation Update is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

As promised here’s my fitness body transformation week 9 progress report. As I alluded to in today’s earlier post, it felt like I started to “hit my groove” this week.  Everything form my weight lifitng workouts to my cardio sessions seemed to gain momentum and it really felt like y body was making some significant changes.  By the end of the week I really felt lean and muscular – really for the first time since starting my 12 week body transformation training cycle. Hopefully things will continue to progress like they did this week over the course of the next 2 weeks – If so I’ll smash my initial goals!

My Fitness Body Transformation Initial Goals

• To gain 25lbs of lean body mass
• To lower my body fat level from 23.2% to 8%
• To increase the size of my arms by 2 inches
• To increase the size of my legs by 3 inches
• To get killer six pack abs
• To really focus on building up the muscle in my back

My Fitness Body Transformation Week 9 Measurements

• Percent Body Fat – 9.0% (an overall improvement of -14.2%)
• Current Lean Body Mass – 178.8 lbs (an overall improvement of +27.5 lbs)
• Current Fat Weight – 17.7 lbs (an overall improvement of -28 lbs)

After today’s weight-in, I’m really excited. So far I’ve been able to achieve my goal of gainnig 25 lbs of lean body mass and I only have 1% bodyfat to lose over the course of the next 2 weeks.  As long as I can stay focused on my diet and fit in all of my workouts, I should be able to get my body fat levels down around 7%!

In order to keep the momentum going, I’m not going to change anything about my weight lifting workouts and I plan on continuing wiht my 2 cardio sessions a day schedule for the remainder of my fitness body transformation training cycle.

That’s all for my week 9 fitness body transformation progress report.

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

My Fitness Body Transformation – Week 9 Progress Report is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Today I’m going to summarize the Muscle Mass Advantage weight lifting workouts that I implemented during the past week (week 9 of my fitness body transformation). So far I really haven’t been too impressed with the progress that I’ve made up to this point, but something changed this week!  I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel like I made some serious progress towards my goals.  Later this evening, I’ll post my body transformation progress report through the end of week 9, so I’ll know for sure whether I my feelings are substantiated.

Last week my body felt great every single day, so I decided to crank up the intensity and frequency of my aerobics workouts, while still trying got keep my weight lifting workouts running smoothly by performing 2 separate 20 minutes cardio workouts Monday – Friday. It was a bit challenging just forcing myself to jump on the treadmill so often (especially towards the end of the week!), but I really feel that the “2 a days” helped my shed more body fat than I had the week before.

Moving into “crunch time” it’s going to take every thing I’ve got just to drop the last few % of body fat. I’ve already decided that regardless of my 12 week accomplishments, I’m going to extend my fitness  body transformation weight lifting workouts and all until I get my body fat % down around 6% – I really want killer six pack abs! At that point I’m going to increase the amount of calories I’m eating, adjust my weight training workouts and up my protein intake in order to hopefully stimulate some more muscle growth – I think I can get everything to balance out for a lean and extremely muscular body!

Week 9 Weight Lifting Workouts

Monday’s Weight Lifting Workout – Chest & Back

Chest Warm-Up:
Incline Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Incline Press: 3 sets x 6 reps
Dumbbell Bench Press: 2 sets x 6 reps

Back Warm-Up:
Dumbbell Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Dumbbell Rows: 3 sets x 6 reps
Lat Pulldowns: 2 sets x 6 reps

Tuesday’s Weight Lifting Workout – Biceps & Triceps

Bicep Warm-Up:
Dumbbell Curl: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Dumbbell Curl: 3 sets x 6 reps
EZ Bar Curl: 2 sets x 6 reps

Triceps Warm-Up:
Skull Crushers: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Skull Crushers: 3 sets x 6 reps
Pushdowns: 2 sets x 6 reps

Thursday’s Weight Lifting Workout – Shoulders & Traps

Shoulder Warm-Up:
Shoulder Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Shoulder Press: 3 sets x 6 reps
DB Shoulder Press: 2 sets x 6 reps

Traps Warm-Up:
Upright Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Upright Rows: 3 sets x 6 reps
High Cable Pulls: 2 sets x 6 reps

Friday’s Weight Lifting Workout – Legs

Quad Warm-Up:
Squat: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Squat: 3 sets x 6 reps
Leg Press Press: 2 sets x 6 reps

Hamstrings Warm-Up:
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 3 sets x 6 reps
Leg Curls: 2 sets x 6 reps

That’s all for the week 9 weight lifting workouts…Enjoy!

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Weight Lifting Workouts – Week 9 is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Well, I put my head down and went to work on my weight lifting routine this week and before I knew it, it was already the weekend and I hadn’t posted any updates to the blog!  I knew that the closer I got to my 12 week deadline, the tougher it was going to be to keep up with my body transformation journal entries – but I’m really struggling just to keep my head above water here…sorry about that!

Today it’s going to be a “catch up” post  that summarizes all of my workouts for week 8 of my fitness body transformation.

All in all, I’m pretty pleased with how things progressed for me this past week.  Now that I’m in the middle of the 9th week of my body transformation, I’m really starting to get a little nervous about  exactly where I’m going to wind up with my body fat percentage. Even though I’ve been diligently performing my 20 minute cardio sessions each day, I’ve been falling off the wagon a bit when it comes to my diet.  While I haven’t exactly been pigging out on crap, I really haven’t followed my low carb bodybuilding diet outline to a “T” either.

Under normal everyday circumstances this wouldn’t be too big of a deal, but in this case I’ve placed a 12 week time limit on everything – so I absolutely have to commit myself for at least the last 3 and a half weeks if I really want to accomplish what I set out to accomplish. The good news is that even if i don’t hit all of my targets within the 12 week time frame,  I can still continue on with my training and dieting until I eventually achieve what I set out to achieve – it just may take a bit longer than I would have liked.

That’s really the cool thing about committing yourself to a life changing body transformation training cycle, if you see it through not only will your body have changed, but after pounding all of the lifestyle changes into your brain over the course of 12 weeks you actually begin to change your habits – from unhealthy habits that lead to the body you had, to healthy and constructive habits that will lead to greater health and a better body down the road. If you see it through, you actually empower yourself to have the body of your dreams for the rest of your life!

The Week 8 Weight Lifting Routines

Chest & Back – Weight Lifting Routines

Chest Warm-Up:
Incline Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6, 1 x 3
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Incline Press: 5 sets x 3 reps
Dumbbell Bench Press: 5 sets x 3 reps

Back Warm-Up:
Dumbbell Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6, 1 x 3
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Dumbbell Rows: 5 sets x 3 reps
Lat Pulldowns: 5 sets x 3 reps

Biceps & Triceps – Weight Lifting Routines

Bicep Warm-Up:
Dumbbell Curl: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6, 1 x 3
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Dumbbell Curl: 5 sets x 3 reps
EZ Bar Curl: 5 sets x 3 reps

Triceps Warm-Up:
Skull Crushers: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6, 1 x 3
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Skull Crushers: 5 sets x 3 reps
Pushdowns: 5 sets x 3 reps

Shoulders & Traps – Weight Lifting Routines

Shoulder Warm-Up:
Shoulder Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6, 1 x 3
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Shoulder Press: 5 sets x 3 reps
DB Shoulder Press: 5 sets x 3 reps

Traps Warm-Up:
Upright Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6, 1 x 3
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Upright Rows: 5 sets x 3 reps
High Cable Pulls: 5 sets x 3 reps

Legs – Weight Lifting Routines

Quad Warm-Up:
Squat: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6, 1 x 3
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Squat: 5 sets x 3 reps
Leg Press Press: 5 sets x 3 reps

Hamstrings Warm-Up:
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1x 6, 1 x 3
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 5 sets x 3 reps
Leg Curls: 5 sets x 3 reps

Well, that’s all for the week 8 weight lifting routines summary post…I’ll be back  tomorrow with my week 8 progress report!

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Weight Lifting Routines – Week 8 is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Today it’s time to pull out the body fat calipers, jump on a scale and measure my fitness body transformation progress through the end of week 7.  For some reason, I feel like I haven’t made the type of steady progress this week that I was making early on.  I’m not sure if it has to do with the fact that I’ve recently started cutting calories out of my bodybuilding diet or whether it’s more a function of getting over the week 6 hump, but I’m a little apprehensive about taking a look at where I stand now more than half way through this training cycle.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I might start supplementing with creatine monohydrate during the second half of my fitness body transformation in order to help increase my strength levels as I begin cutting calories in order to lean out. Today I’m going to start my loading phase so I should be able to notice a huge difference in the size and strength of my muscles by the end of next weeks workouts – I’ll keep you posted on how things are going. I’m hoping that mixing in some creatine supplementation will allow me to get the most out of the Muscle Mass Advantage workouts that I’m following.

Here Were My Fitness Body Transformation Initial Goals

• To gain 25lbs of lean body mass
• To lower my body fat level from 23.2% to 8%
• To increase the size of my arms by 2 inches
• To increase the size of my legs by 3 inches
• To get killer six pack abs
• To really focus on building up the muscle in my back

Here Are All of My Current Fitness Body Transformation Week 6 Measurements

Percent Body Fat – 11.9% (an overall improvement of -11.3%)
Current Lean Body Mass – 171.8 lbs (an overall improvement of +20.5 lbs)
Current Fat Weight – 23.2 lbs (an overall improvement of -22.5 lbs)

Well, there you have it. I felt like I didn’t make a whole lot of progress towards my goals and I didn’t.  If  I’m going to reach my initial goals, I’m going to have to kick things into overdrive over the course of the next few weeks of my fitness body transformation. Because I really didn’t accomplish any progress over the course of the past week, I decided not to post any new pictures (mostly because they look identical to the week 6 pics that I posted last week).

My Fitness Body Transformation – Week 7 Progress Report is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Today I headed off to the gym hoping to bust out a decent leg work out routine.  When I got there, someone was using the only squat rack  in the joint so I had to Wait for about 20 minutes – what a pain in the butt! That said, I was able to pour my hostility into my leg work out and I wound up having a pretty decent day at the gym.

photo credit: jontunn

Today’s Work Out Routine – Legs

Quad Warm-Up:
Squat: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Squat: 2 sets x 15 reps

Glute Warm-Up:
Straight Leg Deadlift: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Straight Leg Deadlift: 2 sets x 15 reps

I was able to get through 2 sets of 15 reps of squats with 275 lbs and 2 sets of straight legged deadlift with 275 lbs. I’ve gotta say that this was a brutal workout…By the 10th rep, my heart felt like it was goin  to jump out of my chest!

Here’s what I ate today for my bodybuilding diet…

• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 4 cups of green tea
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 2 cups of cooked spinach (sauteed in a pat of butter)
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 1/4 cup of walnuts
• 3 eggs fried in olive oil

That’s it for today’s body transformation journal entry and workout out routine.

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Work Out Routine is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Arvada, Colorado USA
Nick Andrade’s Body Transformation Log – Week 6 bodybuilding workout routines
Objective: To Burn Fat Gain Muscle Mass And Transform My Body In 12 Weeks

This morning I’m going to summarize all of the bodybuilding workout routines that I performed last week during the 6th week of my body transformation. Looking back on my week 6 bodybuilding workouts, I’d have to say that I’m making some pretty decent progress towards my goals. Overall my body feels bigger and I’m definitely continuing to get stronger as the weeks go on. In last weeks workout summary, I mentioned that I didn’t feel like I’d “hit the wall” yet and so far working through week 6 I’d still have to agree with that.  The Muscle Mass Advantage workouts are still keeping things fresh for me with each and every workout – and because of this I think I’ve been able to avoid any type of mental sticking point.

This week I continued where I left off and worked 4 (20 minute) cardio sessions into my bodybuilding workout routines in order to really start the process of stripping off some body fat. While I typically don’t stress about cutting down to 8 % body fat, for some reason I feel like I need to be very careful this time around.  I guess I just don’t want to get too comfortable with the progress that I’ve made so far and try to coast down through the homes stretch only to find that I left something on the table.  I want to be able to focus on building muscle mass and stop having to obsess about losing body fat for the last few weeks of this training cycle.

With that out of the way, on to the bodybuilding workout routines…

The Week 6 Bodybuilding Workout Routines

Monday’s Bodybuilding Workout Routine – Legs

Warm-Up:
Barbell Squat: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Barbell Squat: 6 sets x 5 reps
Leg Press: 3 sets x 5 reps

Warm-Up:
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 6 sets x 5 reps
Leg Curls: 3 sets x 5 reps

Tuesday’s Bodybuilding Workout Routine – Chest & Back

Warm-Up:
Incline Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Incline Press: 3 sets x 5 reps
Bench Press: 3 sets x 5 reps

Warm-Up:
Barbell Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Barbell Rows: 3 sets x 5 reps
Pulldowns: 3 sets x 5 reps

Thursday’s Bodybuilding Workout Routine  – Chest & Back

Biceps Warm-Up:
Alternating Dumbbell Curl: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Alternating Dumbbell Curl 3 sets x 5 reps
EZ Bar Curl: 3 sets x 5 reps

Triceps Warm-Up:
Skull Crushers: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Skull Crushers: 3 sets x 5 reps
French Press: 3 sets x 5 reps

Friday’s Bodybuilding Workout Routine  – Shoulders & Traps

Shoulder Warm-Up:
Shoulder Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Shoulder Press: 3 sets x 5 reps
Seated Dumbbell Press: 3 sets x 5 reps

Traps Warm-Up:
Upright Cable Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Upright Cable Rows: 6 sets x 5 reps

That’s it for the week 6 bodybuilding workout routines summary post.  This week of Muscle Mass Advantage workouts really kicked my butt and helped me to stimulate some new muscle growth – so if you’re in the market for a few solid bodybuilding workouts give these babies a shot!

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Week 6 Bodybuilding Workout Routines is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Monday day I hit the gym pretty hard for one of my first weight lifting routines of the week.  While the structure of the Muscle Mass Advantage workouts has completely changed up again (from hard and heavy to lighter with more reps), this time my body feels like it could really use a lighter training week, so I’m actually looking forward to the weight lifting routine changes that I’m going to see throughout this week.

Now that I’m starting to get closer to my 12 week body transformation deadline, I’m starting to get anxious. This week I’m really going to focus on stripping off body fat and sort of take it easy on the muscle building front. In order to make this happen quicker, I’m going to lower my target calorie level just a bit and increase the amount of cardio I’m doing this week in conjunction with my normal weight lifting routines.  In order to spread out the calorie burn over the course of the day, I plan on hitting the gym 2 times each day for the next few weeks (1 time for cardio and 1 time for my weight lifting workout).

I’m hoping that by really focusing on stripping off body fat, that I’ll be able to get very close to my initial goal of 8% by the end of this week.  If I can make that happen, it’ll take a lot of pressure off of me and allow me to relax a bit and focus on building muscle mass for the duration of this training cycle. I really like to focus my efforts on building muscle mass and let the fat loss take care of itself naturally as I start to bulk up, but as far out of shape as I was when I started this program (over 23% body fat!), I’m a bit nervous that I won’t be able to reach my goals if I don’t try to do something about it right now!

The Weight Lifting Routines

Monday’s Weight Lifting Workout  – Chest & Back

Chest Warm-Up:
Incline Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Incline Press: 2 sets x 15 reps

Back Warm-Up:
Dumbbell Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Dumbbell Rows: 2 sets x 15 reps

On Monday, I was able to crank out 2 sets of 15 reps of incline press with 185 lbs.  Definitely not record setting training weights, but it was a challenge to get through all 15 reps for sure. As far as dumbbell rows, I was able to pump out 2 sets of 15 reps with 85 lb dumbbells.  All in all, a decent workout – nothing too crazy but it was challenging working in the 15 rep training bracket.

Tuesday’s Weight Lifting Workout  – Biceps & Triceps

Bicep Warm-Up:
Barbell Curl: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Barbell Curl: 2 sets x 15 reps

Triceps Warm-Up:
Skull Crushers: 1 x 10, 1 x 8
Work Sets: (rest interval 2 minutes)
Skull Crushers: 2 sets x 15 reps

Today I performed 2 sets of 15 reps of barbell curls with 95 lbs and 2 sets of 15 reps of skull crushers with 115 lbs.  By the end of this workout, my arms felt like they were going to explode!

As far as my bodybuilding diet goes, I made a few small adjustments but nothing to write home about.  I’m really trying to focus my efforts over the course of the next few weeks on leaning out and stripping off body fat.  I know from past experience that there’s not too many things worse than having to strip off 2 -3 % body fat during the last week of a training cycle, so hopefully giving myself a few weeks to make it happen will allow me to avoid the misery of having to do too much too fast.

In order to strip off the body fat, I’ve decided to take a 2 headed approach and increase my energy expenditure by performing a few more cardio workouts during the week and lower my overall calorie intake just a bit. The potent combination of adding more cardio to my weight lifting routines and eating slightly less should be enough to get me over the hump as far as fat loss goes.

Here’s my modified bodybuilding nutrition outline for today (probably for the rest of the week as well)…

• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 4 cups of green tea
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 2 cups of cooked spinach (sauteed in a pat of butter)
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 1/4 cup of walnuts
• 3 eggs fried in olive oil

Well, that’s all I’ve got for today’s body transformation journal entry.  If you’re in the market for a few decent weight lifting routines give the two listed above a shot – although they seem like they’d be easy to work through if you use a weight that’s challenging enough they’ll totally kick your butt.

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Weight Lifting Routines is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Yesterday I posted a few pictures of myself before I started my body transformation workouts and diet. Today, I thought I’d post a few current pictures highlighting my progress so far (at the 6 week point). So far I’d have to say that I’m really pleased with the progress that I’ve made.  While I don’t feel like I’ve stripped off too much body fat, I do feel like I’ve packed on quite a bit of muscle mass. If I can continue to strip away body fat and pack on muscle mass at the same time, I’ll be able to easily reach my goals!

Here are a few pictures of my body transformation progress at the end of 6 weeks…

My Body Transformation Updated Photos is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Today it’s weight-in time again and I’m pretty excited to see exactly where I stack up at the half way point of my body transformation.  Just by the way my body feels and how it’s responding to the Muscle Mass Advantage workouts, I think I’m going to be blowing my initial goals completely out of the water by the end of the 12 week training cycle – but it’s just a hunch.

Sometimes without the cold hard numbers staring you right in the face, it can be tough to see exactly which way you’re headed.  I mean everybody tends to be fairly over optimistic when it comes to what they think they’ve accomplished versus what they’ve actually accomplished – so taking body fat measurements and jumping on a scale each week can really open your eyes to reality.

Here Are My Body Transformation Initial Goals

• To gain 25lbs of lean body mass
• To lower my body fat level from 23.2% to 8%
• To increase the size of my arms by 2 inches
• To increase the size of my legs by 3 inches
• To get killer six pack abs
• To really focus on building up the muscle in my back

Here Are All of My Current Body Transformation Week 6 Measurements

Percent Body Fat – 11.9% (an overall improvement of -11.3%)
Current Lean Body Mass – 171.8 lbs (an overall improvement of +20.5 lbs)
Current Fat Weight – 23.2 lbs (an overall improvement of -22.5 lbs)

If you’re doing the math, that means that I’ve got to gain roughly 5 lbs of muscle mass and strip off 3.3 % body fat over the course of the next 6 weeks in order to reach my goals.  I think this is very realistic – although I hope I can achieve even better results!

I thought I’d go ahead and start putting up some pictures of my progress every few weeks or so for the duration of my body transformation training cycle.  Here are some pictures of what my body looked like before starting this training cycle (I don’t like the hoaky before and after pictures so I just grabbed a few pictures of me from my everyday life pre Muscle Mass Advantage) …

Tomorrow I’ll post a few pictures of my progress so far.

That’s all for my body transformation progress report week 6 update.

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

My Body Transformation – Week 6 Progress Report is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Today I hit my shoulders and traps as hard as I could. While my shoulders are already one of the bigger parts of my body, I’ve never really tried to train them with any sort of consistency. Most of the bodybuilding workout routines that I’ve tried in the past, just seemed to gloss over shoulder and trap workouts.  I guess they figured that if you were performing a lot of the big chest press lifts, then you were stimulating your shoulders enough in the process. I’m kind of excited to see just how big I can get my shoulders during these 12 weeks – because I’ve never really trained them before, I know they’ll be pretty responsive to the workouts!

Friday’s Bodybuilding Workout Routine – Shoulders & Traps

Shoulder Warm-Up:
Shoulder Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Shoulder Press: 3 sets x 5 reps
Seated Dumbbell Press: 3 sets x 5 reps

Traps Warm-Up:
Upright Cable Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Upright Cable Rows: 6 sets x 5 reps

I was able to get through 3 sets of 5 reps with 165 lbs for shoulder press and 3 sets of 5 reps of seated db press with 70lb dumbbells.  For my traps I was able to perform 6 sets of 5 reps of upright cable rows with the weight stack maxed.

My diet didn’t change at all – here’s what I ate today…

• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 3 cups of green tea
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 3 cups of beef brisket
• 2 cups of spinach (in a salad)
• 1 tbs of ranch dressing
• 3 cups of beef brisket
• 1/2 cup of walnuts
• 1/2 cup of cheese
• 3 eggs fried in olive oil

That’s all for today.  If you’re like me and you’ve never utilized a bodybuilding workout routine that consistently targets your shoulders and traps, this would be a great workout to try. Keep in mind that if you’ve never trained your shoulders before, then they have a huge capacity for strength development and growth and this workout will completely hammer all of the muscles in your shoulders and traps!

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Bodybuilding Workout Routine is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Today I felt that things went pretty well at the gym for my chest and back bodybuilder workout.  I really tried to bring the thunder again and hit it hard in order to stimulate some muscle growth. If I’m actually going to achieve my goal of building 25 lbs of muscle mass in 12 weeks, then I’m going to have to get serious and take advantage of every opportunity I have left to force my muscles to grow.

In order to really get things ramped up, I’m thinking of incorporating creatine monohydrate into my bodybuilding nutrition and supplement strategy.  I love creatine monohydrate and have always noticed some pretty good increases in my strength levels after loading. I figure that if nothing else creatine will help me blast through my bodybuilder workouts with heavier training weights and a new level of focus that always comes when i excitedly incorporate something new into my program.

In the past, whenever I’ve used creatine I’ve always just blindly followed along with the manufacturers recommendations.  This time around, I’ve decided to “do it right” and dose out my creatine monohydrate  based on the recommendations of Dr. Alfredo Franco-Obregón in his book Creatine A Practical Guide. Inside of this manual Franco-Obregón explains in detail exactly how to calculate the amount of creatine monohydrate your muscles really need (not the exaggerated quantities that the supplement companies tell you to use).

I highly recommend the book, and I’ll keep you all posted on my results as I work creatine monohydrate into my supplement strategy. If you’re interested, you can check out the Creatine Monohydrate Guide Here

My Bodybuilder Workout – Chest & Back

Warm-Up:
Incline Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Incline Press: 3 sets x 5 reps
Bench Press: 3 sets x 5 reps

Warm-Up:
Barbell Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Barbell Rows: 3 sets x 5 reps
Pulldowns: 3 sets x 5 reps

I was able to get through 3 sets of 5 reps with 225 lbs for incline press and 3 sets of 5 reps of bench press with 245 lbs.  For my back I was able to perform 3 sets of 5 reps of bent rows with 225 lbs and 3 sets of 5 reps of lat pulldowns with the 200 lbs.

Here’s my bodybuilding nutrition outline for today…

• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 3 cups of green tea
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 3 cups of beef brisket
• 2 cups of cooked spinach (sauteed in a pat of butter)
• 3 cups of beef brisket
• 1/2 cup of walnuts
• 1/2 cup of cheese
• 3 eggs fried in olive oil

That’s it for today’s journal entry. Give this bodybuilder workout a try if you want to build some strength and muscle mass in your chest and back.  I’ve been performing variations of this basic chest and back workout for over 10 years with excellent results!

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Bodybuilder Workout is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Yesterday I headed off to the gym ready to rip into my bodybuilding leg workout with some intensity. I was pretty excited to get back to the gym and start working towards my goals after the weekend off. This week the Muscle Mass Advantage workouts are switching gears again and forcing me to train in the 4 – 6 repetition range for a decent amount of sets (6) for each body part.

I’m mot sure why, but I absolutely love to train in the 4 – 6 rep range.  I start to get excited just thinking about it…I guess it probably has something to do with the fact that I can train heavy in this repetition range – especially during my leg workouts! The “hard and heavy” style of training has always allowed me to stimulate some serious muscle growth quickly, so I’m anxious to see just how it pans out during week 6 of my body transformation.

Week 6 Bodybuilding Leg Workout

Warm-Up:
Barbell Squat: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Barbell Squat: 6 sets x 5 reps
Leg Press: 3 sets x 5 reps

Warm-Up:
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 6 sets x 5 reps
Leg Curls: 3 sets x 5 reps

I was able to pound out 6 sets of 5 reps with 315 lbs for barbell squats and 3 sets of Leg press with 6 plates on each side.  For my hamstrings I was able to perform 6 sets of 5 reps of stiff legged deadlift with 275lbs and 3 sets of 5 reps of leg curls with the machine set to #14.

As far as my bodybuilding nutrition plan goes,I decided to pretty much stick with that exact same menu that I ate last week.  I felt like I had a decent amount of energy during the week and I really felt full most of the time. I was happy with the results, as I was able to strip off some body fat last week all the while increasing my strength levels a bit, so I just thought that it made sense to ride it out.  There’s no sense in making changes to something if it’s working well for you – just let it ride and make the changes as your progress starts to slow down.

Here’s my bodybuilding nutrition outline for today…

• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 3 cups of green tea
• 2 cups of cooked ground beef
• 3 cups of beef brisket
• 2 cups of cooked spinach (sauteed in a pat of butter)
• 3 cups of beef brisket
• 1/2 cup of walnuts
• 1/2 cup of cheese
• 3 eggs fried in olive oil

Well, that’s it for today’s body transformation journal entry. If you’re looking for a great bodybuilding leg workout and you don’t mind the challenge go ahead and give this workout a try. If you attack it with a sense of urgency and train with weights that are challenging for you, your leg muscles will get stronger and you’ll build some muscle mass in your lower body.

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Bodybuilding Leg Workout is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

Last week I really dropped the ball as far as my body transformation journal entries, so today I’m going to summarize my week 5 bodybuilding workouts and basically try to cover the entire week of journal entries in one post. I’m not sure why I had such a hard time logging in and writing my posts ( I think it had something to do with the celebration of my 32nd birthday on Friday – man I’m feeling old!), but today we’ll get all caught up and back on track.

As far as my week 5 Muscle Mass Advantage bodybuilding workouts,I felt like it was a pretty good week at the gym. I was able to increase my training weights on almost every  lift and I really started to feel like I was getting into decent shape. Typically I start to hit a mental wall around week 5 or 6 of my training cycles, but for some reason I haven’t experienced any problems yet – it feels great to hit the gym and my body definitely does not feel like it’s being over trained. I think that I’ll be able to blast out some very intense and productive muscle building workouts over the remainder of this 12 week training cycle – it should lead to some serious muscle growth!

This week, I really made an effort to mix in more aerobic exercise sessions.  The closer I get to the 12 week deadline, the more I’m going to ramp up my cardio workouts.  I’m not sure why, but even if I’ve got my bodybuilding nutrition plan dialed in to a “T”, I still need to feel like I’m actively stripping off body fat – and for me a few extra cardio sessions a week is the way to make that happen. I was able to fit in (4) 20 minute cardio workouts this week in between the bodybuilding workouts. I really didn’t kill myself as far as intensity goes, I just jogged for 20 minutes at about a 9 minute mile pace. With my cardio workouts, I just try to get in and pound out a quick 2 mile run.

The Week 5 Bodybuilding Workouts

Monday’s Bodybuilding Workout – Legs

Warm-Up:
Barbell Squat: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Barbell Squat: 3 sets x 10 – 12 reps

Warm-Up:
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 3 sets x 10 – 12 reps

I was able to perform 3 sets of 10 reps of barbell squats with 245 lbs and 3 sets of 12 reps of stiff leg deadlift with 215 lbs. I sort of felt like I was taking it too easy on this workout, but at this point I really don’t want to risk any sort of muscular or joint injury so my motto this week was “easy does it”.  The one area where I really stuck with the bodybuilding workouts was the rest intervals.  I was meticulous about hitting my rest intervals exactly without cheating to rest longer than prescribed. This really made the workout tough, even with the light training weights. By the middle of my squat sets (around reps 6 – 10), my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest!

Tuesday’s Bodybuilding Workout – Biceps & Triceps

Warm-Up:
Straight Bar Curl: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Straight Bar Curl: 3 sets x 10 -12  reps

Warm-Up:
Skull Crushers: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Skull Crushers: 3 sets x 10 12 reps

For this workout, I was able to grind through 3 sets of 12 reps of straight bar curl with 95 lbs and 3 sets of 12 reps of skull crushers with 115lbs. I felt like this bodybuilding workout went about the same as Mondays workout – light training weights, but difficult due to the somewhat short rest interval between sets. all in all a pretty decent bicep and triceps workout!

Wednesday’s Bodybuilder Workout – Chest & Back

Warm-Up:
Incline Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Incline Press: 3 sets x 10 – 12 reps

Warm-Up:
Dumbell  Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Dumbbell Rows: 3 sets x 10 -12 reps

I was able to pound out 1 set of 9 reps of  incline press with 205 lbs, but I had to lower the weight to 185 for the next 2 sets of 10 reps.  As far as dumbbell rows, I was able to get through 3 sets of 12 reps with 75 lb dumbbells.

Friday’s Bodybuilder Workout - Shoulders & Traps

Warm-Up:
Shoulder Press: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Shoulder Press: 3 sets x  10 -12 reps

Warm-Up:
Upright Rows: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6
Work Sets: (rest interval 1.5 minutes)
Upright Rows: 3 sets x 10 -12 reps

On Friday, I was able to perform 2 sets of 10 reps of shoulder press with 135 lbs, then I had to lower the weight to 115 for the final set of 10 reps. For upright rows, I cranked out 3 sets of 10 reps with 115 lbs. By the end of this workout, my shoulders and traps were on fire…it felt great!

Well, that’s all for my week 5 bodybuilding workouts summary and catch up journal entries. Later this evening, I’m going to write a short summary post updating everyone about my week 5 bodybuilding nutrition plan. Next week I plan to get back on track and post a journal entry each day, but I never really know how busy the week is going to be for me.  I fit’s a choice between hitting the gym and preparing my food 0r the daily journal entries, then you may be reading another catch up post next week as well – but I think I can manage at least a few posts. This bodybuilding workouts summary and catch up posts will take the place of the usual workout summary post, and I really hope that having all of the bodybuilding workouts on one page will help all of you who are following along with these Muscle Mass Advantage workouts.

Your Friend And Trainer,

Nick

Week 5 Bodybuilding Workouts is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help

I’ve decided to move the training journal posts over to gainmusclemasshelp.com’s blog in order to work around an issue with the other blogs rss feed.  My hope is that by moving the body transformation posts over to this site, everyone will be able to subscribe to the feed in any reader they choose and get immediate access to all of the awesome information that I’ve been covering with these training posts.

It’s a lot to take in, but if you pay attention to what I’m saying each day, you’ll have a very good idea of what it really takes to burn fat, build muscle mass and completely transform your body in only 12 weeks – 100% naturally! I’m laying it all on the line here and opening up my personal training diary for 12 full weeks and posting each and every bodybuilding workout that I take on, complete with a few words about how I felt each workout went and why.

If you’re not sure how to burn fat or build muscle, then you need to pay attention to this section of the blog and get a handle on what really matters when it comes to building muscle and burning off fat. Just start out on day 1 and work your way through the program , if you’re paying attention to what I’m doing (and eating) each day and you actually implement the tips along the way, you’ll have no choice but to achieve similar results to what I’m currently achieving with my body transformation!

My Body Transformation Goals

Currently, I’m at day 30 of an intense 12 week body transformation training cycle in which I’m trying to…

1. Gain 25lbs of lean body mass
2. Lower my body fat level from 23.2% to 8%
3. Increase the size of my arms by 2 inches
4. Increase the size of my legs by 3 inches
5. Get killer six pack abs
6. Really focus on building up the muscle in my back

My main goal ahead of even the 6 listed above is to completely blow the results that I got while competing in the EAS Body For Life Challenge (check out the picture at the top of this post) over 10 years ago out of the water. While I felt that I had achieved an amazing body transformation at the time, I have a lot more knowledge and ambition now, so I know I’ll be able to get even better results this time around.

My Current Body Transformation Results

So far, I’ve been able to achieve some pretty awesome results.  At the end of my week 4 training cycle I had…

• Lowered My Overall Body Fat Levels By 8.4%!
• Increased My Lean Body Mass By 10.6 lbs!
• And Melted Off 17.6 lbs of Nasty Body Fat!

I just wrapped up week 5 of my body transformation and I plan on getting all caught up on the weeks journal entries (here on this blog) by the end of tomorrow at the latest. If you want to check out all of the journal entries and bodybuilding workouts to date, you’ll have to read them over at the GainMuscleWorkoutLess.com blog:

http://www.gain-muscle-workout-less.com/gain-muscle-mass

I really hope that moving all of my body transformation journal entries over to this blog allows more people to get access to this life changing  information.

My Body Transformation is a post from: Gain Muscle Mass Help