Training Split

Current split is a basic low-volume PPL A/B routine which I will post this below. I've done a more in-depth writeup on this if anybody is interested. Abs I am hitting directly 3-4 times a week and cardio is in 6-7 times a week. 30 minutes at ~140BPM treadmill incline walk. You will see some variation between this routine and the exercises I'm doing in sessions at the moment. The main reason being, I'm training between two gyms and my second gym is very busy in the evening meaning I have to substitute new exercises in. Exercise choice will be more consistent when I'm at one gym full time after moving house. I made a more detailed post about my split here.

 

Training Split

Current split is a basic low-volume PPL A/B routine which I will post this below. I've done a more in-depth writeup on this if anybody is interested. Abs I am hitting directly 3-4 times a week and cardio is in 6-7 times a week. 30 minutes at ~140BPM treadmill incline walk. You will see some variation between this routine and the exercises I'm doing in sessions at the moment. The main reason being, I'm training between two gyms and my second gym is very busy in the evening meaning I have to substitute new exercises in. Exercise choice will be more consistent when I'm at one gym full time after moving house. I made a more detailed post about my split here.

I intended to run it as below but I skip the rest days quite often because I get bored and feel lazy if I miss a day. If I'm recovering in between sessions and missing the rest isn't hindering me, I don't mind.

Day 1	Push (A)
Day 2	Pull (A)
Day 3	Legs (A)
Day 4	Rest
Day 5	Push (B)
Day 6	Pull (B)
Day 7	Legs (B)
Day 8	Rest

Push (A)
Focus: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps

Exercise	Sets/Reps
Flat Barbell Bench Press	3 x 6-10
Seated DB Shoulder Press	3 x 6-10
Pec-deck Fly	3 x 8-12
Cable Triceps Pushdown (Rope)	3 x 8-12
Lateral DB Raise	3 x 8-12

• Build up to working sets with warm-up sets at a lighter weight
• Warm up rotator cuffs before pressing

Pull (A)
Focus: Back & Biceps

Exercise	Sets/Reps
Lat Pull-Down	3 x 6-10
Bent Over Row	3 x 6-10
Seated Incline DB Curl	3 x 8-12
Pull-Up	3 x 8-12
EZ-Bar Curl	3 x 8-12

• Build up to working sets with warm-up sets at a lighter weight
• Pre-exhaust your Lats with a few sets of cable pull-overs if you struggle with mind-muscle connection

Legs (A)
Focus: Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes & Calves

Exercise	Sets/Reps
Back Barbell Squat	3 x 6-10
Leg Press	3 x 6-10
Lying Hamstring Curl	3 x 8-12
Standing Calf Raise	3 x 8-12
Leg Extension	3 x 8-12

• Build up to working sets with warm-up sets at a lighter weight
• Pre-exhaust your Glutes with a few sets of bridges if you struggle with mind-muscle connection or are very Quad-dominant with Squats

Push (B)
Focus: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps

Exercise	Sets/Reps
Close Grip Bench Press	3 x 6-10
Standing Barbell Press	3 x 6-10
Incline DB Fly	3 x 8-12
Overhead Triceps Extension	3 x 8-12
Lateral DB Raise	3 x 8-12

• Build up to working sets with warm-up sets at a lighter weight
• Warm up rotator cuffs before pressing
• Grip on CGBP doesn’t have to be too narrow – can be around shoulder width

Pull (B)
Focus: Back & Biceps

Exercise	Sets/Reps
Pull-Up	3 x 6-10
Deadlift/Rack Pull	3 x 6-10
DB Hammer Curl	3 x 8-12
Lat Pull-Down (Neutral Grip)	3 x 8-12
Preacher Curl	3 x 8-12

• Build up to working sets with warm-up sets at a lighter weight
• Pre-exhaust your Lats with a few sets of cable pull-overs if you struggle with mind-muscle connection

Legs (B)
Focus: Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes & Calves

Exercise	Sets/Reps
Lunge	3 x 6-10
Glute Ham Raise	3 x 6-10
Hack Squat	3 x 8-12
Seated Calf Raise	3 x 8-12
Abductor/Adductor	3 x 8-12

• Build up to working sets with warm-up sets at a lighter weight

Nutrition

Calories are at 3,200. Protein is at 175g. This is all I track. This should be a very slight surplus for me but my weight gain has stalled due to having a flareup with my illness. My body is probably not absorbing food/vitamins very well right now. I will adjust this if necessary. I'm currently using Huel Black Edition 1-2 times a day to increase calorie intake without upsetting my stomach too much. Seems a good addition so far.

Staple food/drinks are currently:

• Whey (MyProtein)
• Huel Black Edition
• Greek Yoghurt
• Milk
• Chicken
• Oats
• Granola
• Rice
• Bread

I do have the odd bit of junk, cookies, brownies, cakes, pizza etc. but I am trying to limit it at the moment as it can set symptoms off with my digestive system. I did try gluten-free recently and it did seem to subdue symptoms for a week or two but my GP said it'd make little impact realistically as the condition is immune/inflammation-related and I missed gluten so I've gone back to normal.

Meds/Supplements

1. 400mg Test E/week
2. 50mg Anavar/day
3. 10mg Cardarine/day
4. Iron
5. B12
6. Probiotics

These are the highest doses you'll see me using. Health is a priority now and I will try to get as much as I can out of smaller doses of more mild meds. Cycles will last a maximum of 8-10 weeks with cruises at ~150 T for equal time in between. Honestly don't think anything more than that is necessary for a regular non-competing weightlifting bro. I can still gain while cruising if I set my training/diet up properly and I'm consistent with it.

Cardarine is in for the endurance boost. I'll be training for a 10KM so hoping to get a small boost to my overall fitness in preparation for that.

B12/Iron are in there as many people with UC are deficient. I get my bloods back from my Doctor in a week so supplementation may change to counteract any deficiencies.

6th April

Best sleep I've had in a few weeks. Symptoms have been mild compared to previous week today. Had to take a stool sample to the Doctor's this morning. Appetite was decent. Had 1 Huel shake to bump up calories, Black Edition is digesting well for me. Taste isn't great but definitely doable.

Training was Pull which consisted of:

• Lat pull-down machine 3 x 6-8
• Seated cable row 3 x 6-8
• Fat grip barbell curl 3 x 8-10
• Shrugs 3 x 10-15
• Cable curls 3 x 6-8

Cardio was 30 minutes incline walk at 140BPM.

Abs was:

• Crunch with legs raised 3 x 10-12
• Ab wheel roll-out 3 x 10
• Side crunch 3 x 10-12 per side

Worked from home today. Fairly easy day. Going in to the office tomorrow which means an early rise and a longer day overall. 50/50 on training tomorrow but it will be legs if I do and might be at the other gym I use in Northwich rather than the one in Sale.

Getting the keys for my new house in 1.5 weeks so me and the Mrs are just doing final preparations so we're ready in advance.

Did you come out of littlehey prison ? 😂

 

Welcome to the members Journals! Seen you pictures somewhere else but you are in very good condition mate. A friend of mine that has been bodybuilding for years has Colitis but it does not seem to have hindered his progress. Hope it is the same for you. Great detail you have gone into with your first posts and it reads well, I will keep checking in as I follow all the current members Journals. Hope your bodybuilding efforts go well for you. Cheers.

For what it is worth, you would do well in a competition!

 

Cheers Brian. I'll keep an eye on yours too.

Maybe one day if I get my stomach under control. I feel like I'd wither away if I did a long diet at the moment.

 

Bedroom looks just like mine....


BRB off to ask the wife something

 

Bedroom looks just like mine....


BRB off to ask the wife something

It'll be changing soon thankfully. Not a fan of the purple wall.

 

Good simple effective routine. You're in good condition. Interested to see what you can do on those low doses. Will be following along. Interested in your current weight and your height?

 

It does the trick. I'm about 7-8 weeks in to it at the moment. I reckon I'll stick with it for another ~6 weeks or so before I make a new one. I'm going to try to increase the volume on my back sessions especially next time as my mid-back and traps are lagging. Height is 5'6 and current weight I'm uncertain of but I'm going to use the scale in Boots on Friday to see where I'm at.

 

Good set of goals, best of luck... following

 

Nice one TURBS, hopefully I can achieve 'em.

 

Been a while since there was good, active journal in here. Will be following mate

 

Thanks mate, daily updates to follow. It'll be like a journal for me.

 

Already following on insta but will check in here too

 

Thanks. I'll probably include a bit more info on here anyway. Being conscious to keep Instagram PC where possible because my other account ended up being shadow-banned. So far, so good.

 

Well presented & articulate - all the best… following👍

 

Thank you sir.

 

Decent legs mate. You have the same knobbly knee caps that I have.

 

Cheers mate. Doubt these knees have got long left to be fair, the right one feels like it's going to come out of it's socket every time I bend down.

 

I remember you well from a few years ago and you helped me out in detail with a question I had; I have always been appreciative. You look awesome mate, I'm glad the sh1t is behind you and wish you nothing but the best. Didn't you have a Bond-like picture of you coming out of the ocean back in the day or was that someone else?

Will be following.

 

I remember your name mate.

Yes that was me. Think I was in Cancun. Looked like a shorter Daniel Craig on Superdrol.

 

Great response to your Journal mate and it is good to see. 👍

 

You are inspiring me to try and get really lean bud. Will follow. All the best getting your life back on track.

 

Thanks man. Illness aside, I usually feel much better all around when I’m lean compared to when I’m trying to bulk up. Bloods look much better too. Just a few little tweaks to your diet and adding 3+ cardio sessions a week and you’ll be surprised by how much better you look and feel within a couple of months.

 

Looking amazing fella, well done

 

Subbed. All the best

 

Good to see you back buddy, used to post under different names until I got banned burt good to see you on the outside, always appreciated your posts.

 

Looking good mate, definitely be following along, good luck!

 

Thanks for the support guys.

Had a half decent sleep last night which has been rare lately. Only got up once. A lot of the time it’s been 4+ times which leaves me feeling groggy the next day.

Will be taking a rest from training today as I’ve probably been in the gym for 28 of the last 30 days. Heading to my Mrs’s house in Northwich so next few sessions will be at Dave’s Gym. Legs tomorrow.

Working today but will stay fairly active and probably take the dog out tonight, just aiming for 10,000 steps today.

 

Following.

Similar goals to mine, similar age as well. I also used to use harsh stuff when I was younger because I didn't care about my health much back then.

As I'm sure you probably already know, you've got superior genetics to 99.999% of men out there. Not just the muscle bellies and insertions.

The one thing I've noticed in people like you is the way they react to gear, even small doses, like hyper-reactors. It means they can take small amounts and look better than people who take grams upon grams, their bodies just don't process it as effectively.

You could easily step on stage and win first place consistently, bag loads of sponsorships, a massive IG following, and kick back with a fitness app subscription like JP one day, pulling in millions a year. Just a thought!

 

Following.

Similar goals to mine, similar age as well. I also used to use harsh stuff when I was younger because I didn't care about my health much back then.

As I'm sure you probably already know, you've got superior genetics to 99.999% of men out there. Not just the muscle bellies and insertions.

The one thing I've noticed in people like you is the way they react to gear, even small doses, like hyper-reactors. It means they can take small amounts and look better than people who take grams upon grams, their bodies just don't process it as effectively.

You could easily step on stage and win first place consistently, bag loads of sponsorships, a massive IG following, and kick back with a fitness app subscription like JP one day, pulling in millions a year. Just a thought!

Thanks man.

I felt invincible in my early 20’s and could run anything and everything with little sides. Can’t imagine I’d get off so easily if I repeated it now though.

Genetics wise, I think a big part of it is that I’m short with a small frame, so I don’t need to gain loads for it to be visible. I try to stay lean too which makes subtle changes more noticeable. I’ve got decent genetics but then I see a picture of Brandon Curry natural at 14 looking twice my size and it’s a reality check.

I did used to have a good following on Instagram but the account was inactive for too long and shadow-banned. Back down to less than 1,000 for now but sharing progress and trying to post some useful tidbits of information where possible so should grow over time. Would definitely be nice to create another income stream through it but work is the main focus for now and I mainly just post to keep me accountable and share ideas on there.

 

In for this, your journals were always a good read previously.

Good to see you’re getting things back on track mate.

 

I remember the name mate. Good to see you're still kicking about. Cheers.

 

Typed this up on direct ab training last week and thought I'd share it here as it's been quite beneficial for me.

Direct Ab Training

I completely neglected doing any direct ab/core training for 10+ years. I was in the mindset that my core would be worked indirectly when doing compound lifts like squats and overhead presses and believed that would provide the core enough stimulation to develop it.

I had dieted down to sub 10% body fat several times and my ab area/obliques were visible but not very pronounced. I did not have the mind/muscle connection required to do a vacuum and my core would give out before my legs sometimes when doing squats which would limit me on how far I could push the weight/reps. At the beginning of the year I decided I'd start hitting my core directly and see if I could improve it.

I don't do anything special for core. Usually just 3 exercises at around 10-15 reps and focus on a good contractions with each rep and a good stretch/vacuum. I usually do something along the lines of:

• Leg raises 3 sets
• Crunch/sit-up 3 sets
• V-Sit 3 sets

I try to include this 3-4 times a week before training. It only takes 10 minutes and I can already see/feel some benefit after doing it for a few months. I can do a vacuum, my core feels more stable on my compound lifts and my abs look more pronounced/deeper ridges than at times in the past where I've been on more compounds/higher dosages/fat-burners.

It's a tiny investment in terms of time as you could probably get away with doing it 2-3 times a week but the return is worthwhile as next time you diet down, your abs will be much more visible and your physique will look more complete as a result.

 

Hi UK-M.

I kept a couple of training logs here a few years ago and always found it to be a useful way to help keep myself accountable and to share/exchange ideas and knowledge with others.

The last few years have been a bit rocky for me, but I've been back to consistent training since the end of July 2021 and have regained a lot of the muscle I lost in my time away from training. I was completely off weight-training and cold turkey from any PEDs supplements for almost a year due to a prison sentence.

I'm 30 now, so I'm not the spring chicken I was when I originally started my logs at 23. Back then I used to use a plethora of drugs with no real regard for my health. I'm older and wiser now so I'm going to try to keep things more sensible this time.

Physique Goals

The goal with the physique is simply to make small improvements while maintaining my fitness/health to the best of my ability. I've never fancied competing. A few people have said I'd have some potential in Men's Physique or Classic but I have no real interest in posing on stage in trunks at this stage. Never say never. But I mainly do this because I enjoy training and I like trying to optimise and experiment with my routine, diet and supplements. I appreciate the 'classic' looking bodybuilders, Bob Paris, Benfatto and so on, but I don't really have a goal physique. I just want to get better in general.

I do prefer to maintain a leaner look, so any size I gain will be done slowly. I'll either be in a very small surplus of 200-300 calories or 'maingaining'. The scale won't move up as fast as a regular all out bulk but it'll prevent me from having to do any cutting/dieting/tidying up and allow for more consistent progress.

Personal Goals

I'm still in the process of rebuilding my life after the whole 1-year holiday situation. I've already made good steps forward. I'm back working again with a job at a good firm, I have a new partner, we're due to move in together in less than two weeks, I'm avoiding recreational drugs/alcohol and I'm doing a little bit of training/diet planning/preparation on the side as an extra earner. Main goals in this department are to stay on the straight and narrow, maintain good relationships with friends/family/partner, work up the ladder in work and take on a few more clients to occupy my downtime in the evening.

Health Goals

I'm on the brink of receiving a diagnosis for a health condition which me and my Doctor suspect is an inflammatory bowel disease called Ulcerative Colitis. It's essentially an autoimmune disease which causes a lot of inflammation in the bowel/digestive tract. For the most part it's been manageable but it can flare up occasionally which can result in me shitting blood upwards of 15 times a day. As you can imagine, it's not optimal for any kind of progress with exercise/weight gain, but I'm doing what I can. The hope is to be prescribed with medication which will counteract the inflammation or suppress the immune system which will bring the condition into 'remission' and rid me of the side effects. It's been a bit frightening in all fairness because I've always been in good health and this popped up relatively out of the blue. Apparently stress can be a factor in its onset and it originally popped up while I was in prison - could be a complete coincidence however. I'll document the journey back back to good health in here and outline any flareups I suffer/treatment I receive.

The goal is to get the side effects under control so I can feel 100% (or close) again - it can be quite draining. I'll be making a conscious effort throughout to do regular cardio, keep nutrition somewhat 'clean', minimise the amount of harmful things going into my body and adding supplements where necessary to improve health markers.

Current progress on this is multiple blood samples were taken and sent off this week and a stool sample was dropped off at the GP's office today. Next stage is usually an endoscopy one the results from the samples come back.

Training Split

Current split is a basic low-volume PPL A/B routine which I will post this below. I've done a more in-depth writeup on this if anybody is interested. Abs I am hitting directly 3-4 times a week and cardio is in 6-7 times a week. 30 minutes at ~140BPM treadmill incline walk. You will see some variation between this routine and the exercises I'm doing in sessions at the moment. The main reason being, I'm training between two gyms and my second gym is very busy in the evening meaning I have to substitute new exercises in. Exercise choice will be more consistent when I'm at one gym full time after moving house.

I intended to run it as below but I skip the rest days quite often because I get bored and feel lazy if I miss a day. If I'm recovering in between sessions and missing the rest isn't hindering me, I don't mind.

Day 1	Push (A)
Day 2	Pull (A)
Day 3	Legs (A)
Day 4	Rest
Day 5	Push (B)
Day 6	Pull (B)
Day 7	Legs (B)
Day 8	Rest

Push (A)
Focus: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps

Exercise	Sets/Reps
Flat Barbell Bench Press	3 x 6-10
Seated DB Shoulder Press	3 x 6-10
Pec-deck Fly	3 x 8-12
Cable Triceps Pushdown (Rope)	3 x 8-12
Lateral DB Raise	3 x 8-12

• Build up to working sets with warm-up sets at a lighter weight
• Warm up rotator cuffs before pressing

Pull (A)
Focus: Back & Biceps

Exercise	Sets/Reps
Lat Pull-Down	3 x 6-10
Bent Over Row	3 x 6-10
Seated Incline DB Curl	3 x 8-12
Pull-Up	3 x 8-12
EZ-Bar Curl	3 x 8-12

• Build up to working sets with warm-up sets at a lighter weight
• Pre-exhaust your Lats with a few sets of cable pull-overs if you struggle with mind-muscle connection

Legs (A)
Focus: Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes & Calves

Exercise	Sets/Reps
Back Barbell Squat	3 x 6-10
Leg Press	3 x 6-10
Lying Hamstring Curl	3 x 8-12
Standing Calf Raise	3 x 8-12
Leg Extension	3 x 8-12

• Build up to working sets with warm-up sets at a lighter weight
• Pre-exhaust your Glutes with a few sets of bridges if you struggle with mind-muscle connection or are very Quad-dominant with Squats

Push (B)
Focus: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps

Exercise	Sets/Reps
Close Grip Bench Press	3 x 6-10
Standing Barbell Press	3 x 6-10
Incline DB Fly	3 x 8-12
Overhead Triceps Extension	3 x 8-12
Lateral DB Raise	3 x 8-12

• Build up to working sets with warm-up sets at a lighter weight
• Warm up rotator cuffs before pressing
• Grip on CGBP doesn’t have to be too narrow – can be around shoulder width

Pull (B)
Focus: Back & Biceps

Exercise	Sets/Reps
Pull-Up	3 x 6-10
Deadlift/Rack Pull	3 x 6-10
DB Hammer Curl	3 x 8-12
Lat Pull-Down (Neutral Grip)	3 x 8-12
Preacher Curl	3 x 8-12

• Build up to working sets with warm-up sets at a lighter weight
• Pre-exhaust your Lats with a few sets of cable pull-overs if you struggle with mind-muscle connection

Legs (B)
Focus: Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes & Calves

Exercise	Sets/Reps
Lunge	3 x 6-10
Glute Ham Raise	3 x 6-10
Hack Squat	3 x 8-12
Seated Calf Raise	3 x 8-12
Abductor/Adductor	3 x 8-12

• Build up to working sets with warm-up sets at a lighter weight

Nutrition

Calories are at 3,200. Protein is at 175g. This is all I track. This should be a very slight surplus for me but my weight gain has stalled due to having a flareup with my illness. My body is probably not absorbing food/vitamins very well right now. I will adjust this if necessary. I'm currently using Huel Black Edition 1-2 times a day to increase calorie intake without upsetting my stomach too much. Seems a good addition so far.

Staple food/drinks are currently:

• Whey (MyProtein)
• Huel Black Edition
• Greek Yoghurt
• Milk
• Chicken
• Oats
• Granola
• Rice
• Bread

I do have the odd bit of junk, cookies, brownies, cakes, pizza etc. but I am trying to limit it at the moment as it can set symptoms off with my digestive system. I did try gluten-free recently and it did seem to subdue symptoms for a week or two but my GP said it'd make little impact realistically as the condition is immune/inflammation-related and I missed gluten so I've gone back to normal.

Meds/Supplements

1. 400 Test
2. 50 Var
3. 10 Cardarine
4. Iron
5. B12
6. Probiotics

These are the highest doses you'll see me using. Health is a priority now and I will try to get as much as I can out of smaller doses of more mild meds. Cycles will last a maximum of 8-10 weeks with cruises at ~150 T for equal time in between. Honestly don't think anything more than that is necessary for a regular non-competing weightlifting bro. I can still gain while cruising if I set my training/diet up properly and I'm consistent with it.

Cardarine is in for the endurance boost. I'll be training for a 10KM so hoping to get a small boost to my overall fitness in preparation for that.

B12/Iron are in there as many people with UC are deficient. I get my bloods back from my Doctor in a week so supplementation may change to counteract any deficiencies.

Recent Pics

Progress August - Now

Back is lagging in comparison to legs/shoulders but will add more back volume when I reorganise split next time.

Video: Legs

Video: Calves

Have some more recent pictures/videos on Instagram - @manc.fit

I think that's it for the first post. I'll update it and add extra information if I think of anything that's missing. Next posts will be daily updates on training/general bits and pieces. Feel free to chime in if you have any suggestions/questions/changes you'd make.

Are those fairly quick workouts?
In and out.

Looking good.

 

I'm usually in there for 70-90 minutes all in all. 30 minutes on cardio and 40-60 minutes lifting weights depending on whether I'm in a rush and if I'm training with a friend. Volume on the weights looks very low but I do tend to do a few warm-up sets to build up to the 3 working sets and then each working set is taken to or near to failure, which means I'll need a couple of minutes to recover before I can go again.

 

Doctor called and said first batches of bloods are back.

I'm anaemic as the inflammation will have prevented my body from absorbing iron, so he's prescribing some very high-strength iron supplements. This is with me supplementing my own Iron too, so God knows how low it'd have been without that. Just increasing my iron level should give me a big energy boost I reckon.

There's also 2 inflammation markers which are elevated which is to be expected for UC. He said we're closer to a diagnosis now and will be able to get one when the stool samples comes back. Then I can work on finding the right meds for me and get back to normal. Well, a new normal at least.

Checked out the Iron I've been prescribed and they look to be 10 times stronger than the stuff I picked up on Amazon, which was the highest dosed I could find on there. Should make a big difference.

What he's prescribed:

As always, any online coaching information/enquiries/contact details can be found here.

 

Good to have you back mate.

 

Will follow. Seen you in the gym mate, looking good

 

Good man. Oh really? Cosmos or Dave's?

 

Welcome back mate 👍 Can totally sympathise with your condition as an IBS sufferer myself, getting the diagnosis was a huge relief as I was obviously worried about WTF was going on with my body. Stress is a big trigger for symptoms.

 

Thank you.

Can be scary, can't it? Especially when you've always been healthy!

Yup, I've read about that. Definitely going to make a conscious effort to avoid stress and try to make sure I get enough sleep too. Everything is ticking along nicely at the moment so there's no reason I should be stressed. Moving house will be a little bit of upheaval but I should be quite settled within a few days after that.