Optimum Anabolics Review Week 2

Sunday, September 24, 2006

By Paul "Batman" O'Brien 

B.A., N.C.E.H.S., Dip. Acu., Cert Clin. IMed., Dip. Adv. OBB, Dip. CHM, Pn1, PN-SSR, PN-NCA, M.AFPA., M.C.Th.A.

Body Composition

Previous, Current, Difference

Height – 66.5”, 66.5”, 0
Total Bodyweight – 158.4lbs, 164.2lbs, +5.8lbs
Body Fat – 13.2% to 14.2 %, 13.7 – 14.4%, +0.2%
Hydration Levels – 59.1%, 59.6%,+0.5%
Visceral Fat – 2, No change
Lean Muscle Mass – 129.2 lbs – 135.91 lbs, 134lbs – 140.56lbs, +4.8lbs
Bone Weight - 6.8 lbs, No change
Metabolic Age – 16, 14, -2

Body Measurements 

Previous, Current, Difference

Neck – 14.1” / 36cm, 14.1” / 36cm, 0
Shoulders – 45” / 114cm, 47.1” / 119.5cm, +2.1”
Chest – 41” / 104cm, 41.4” / 105cm, +0.4”
Bicep R. – 13.4” / 34cm, 13.7” / 35cm, +0.3”
Bicep L. – 12.8” / 32.5cm, 13.1” / 33cm, +0.3”
Forearm R. – 11” / 28cm, 11.3” / 29cm, +0.3”
Forearm L. – 11” / 28cm, 11.3” / 29cm, +0.3”
Wrist R & L. – 6.5” / 16.5cm, 6.5” / 16.5cm, 0
Abs at Navel – 31” / 78.5 cm, 32” / 81cm, +1”
Hips at Iliac Crest 36” – 91.5cm, 35” / 89cm, -1”
Thigh R. – 23.5” / 58.5cm, 24.2” / 61 cm, +0.7”
Thigh L. – 23.3” / 58 cm, 23.4” / 59cm, +0.1”
Calf R. – 14” /35.5cm, 14.4” / 36.5 cm, +0.4”
Calf L – 14” / 35.5cm, 14.4” / 36.5 cm, +0.4”

Total Improvement 5.3”

Comments – I can’t believe this. I’ve gained 2 inches on my shoulders. I look weird. My top half is way too wide. My lab coat is uncomfortably tight. And I can’t stop flexing my shoulders in every reflective surface I pass. I can’t believe it.

I’ve put on 4.8lbs of lean muscle in 7 days – that’s nuts. Even considering my previous muscle wastage that’s just stupid gains. I mean my chest and back are still in bits, my chest really really really hurts by the way and I couldn’t even open a jar of pesto for my mother. I can’t tense them without the shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. I can’t wait to see how much tissue I pack on there once they stop hurting. Same with the biceps. That’ll be real fun.

I’m genuinely concerned I may be way too big by the end of this. Tomorrow is shoulders day once again and with an extra set for every exercise making that 6 extra sets. Wooo!!! Liking this. My quote for this week is a classic -

“What ya gonna do? What ya gonna do brother, when the largest arms in the world and all my Hulkamaniacs run wild on YOU?”

Do you want gains like this and to pack on a load of lean muscle tissue yourself? Then get this program - Optimum Anabolics - Check it out here.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Day 1 Week 2 - Workout Shoulders

Superset 1

Internal Dumbbell Rotation –13.2 (x 12), 8.8 (x 10), 8.8 (x 10), 8.8 (x 8.)Arnold Presses – 13.2 (x 12), 13.2 (x 10), 13.2 (x 10), 17.6 (x 8.)

Superset 2

Dip Bar Shrug – BW (x 12), BW (x 10), BW (x 10), BW (x 8.)Dumbbell Lateral Raise – 8.8 (x 12), 13.2 (x 10), 13.2 (x 10), 17.6 (x 8.)

Superset 3

Front Raise – 13.2 (x 12), 13.2 (x 10), 13.2 (x 10), 17.6 (x 8.)Dumbbell Military Press – 13.2 (x 12), 13.2 (x 10), 13.2 (x 10), 17.6 (x 8.)

All lifts are in lbs

Notes and impressions

OOWOWOWOWWOOWOWOWOW!!!! Man this was a good workout. The weights were light but technique was spot on and my GOD my shoulders are sore. I mean even now just a few hours later, they are really sore! It’s great.

I’m totally hyped from yesterdays weigh in and I’m looking to beat that this week. This week is gonna kick it! WOO!

On a calmer note – I’m missing running. I’m missing my dawn jogs and seeing the world wake up. I’m also a little concerned about the non lean muscle weight gain. I may reduce the calorie intake from carbs and fat. I’ll give another 3 weeks and go from there. It gets much harder next week so I may just need those calories. Hmmm…this requires more thought…

Here’s to Bigger Biceps tomorrow!

Do you want gains like this and to pack on a load of lean muscle tissue yourself? Then get this program - Optimum Anabolics - Check it out here.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Day 2 Week 2 - Workout Biceps

Superset 1

Preacher Curls – 22 (x 12), 22 (x 10), 22 (x 10), 22 (x 8.)Dumbbell Kickbacks – 13.2 (x 12), 17.6 (x 10), 17.6 (x 10), 17.6 (x 8.)

Superset 2

Barbell Curls – 55 (x 12), 30.8 (x 10), 30.8 (x 10), 30.8 (x 8.)Close Grip Bench Press – 55 (x 12), 77 (x 10), 77 (x 10), 77 (x 8.)

Superset 3

Twist Crunch – BW (x 12), BW (x 10), BW (x 10), BW (x 8.)Hanging Leg Raise – BW (x 12), BW (x 10), BW (x 10), BW (x 8.)

All lifts are in lbs

Notes and impressions

Today was an exquisite experience. Now granted that’s not a word you hear often in the world of weight lifting, but it fits with today’s workout. As I was curling away, pumping the blood through my biceps and creating that micro trauma that results in huge growth I felt my arms getting tighter and tighter. Then I’d switch seconds later and work my triceps and stretch out the previously worked muscles at the same time.

I did this repeatedly for a total of 160 repetitions. My arms were bulging - they were huge, temporarily inflated by the amount of blood and water being channeled through the muscle tissue. I felt tight and toned, my skin seemingly straining to contain the mass of muscle in my arms. It felt incredible.

The raw power involved and the satisfaction of working any aspect of the body to a new level fatigue and development is unique to resistance training. And it is an experience that cannot be adequately described to someone who has not pushed the boundaries of they’re physical limits.

As my arms dangled, exhausted I reflected as the dull warm ache of muscle fatigue creepy upon me that it is a privilege to exercise. From the earliest days of society and civilization man has sent he benefit in the cultivation of the human body, the Egyptians through to the Greeks to Victorian England and today all understood the vital importance of exercise – not just for the physical benefits it brings (ever more important in today’s health conscious society), but for the sheer pleasure of it.

We are each of us gifted with a human body and a mind with which to use it. We each have the opportunity to make the most of those gifts. Learn study and grow. Build a body worthy of you. The human body recreates itself completely over the course of 6 months. New skin cells, new hair cells, new DNA every six months. The body is in a constant state of creation and you have the power to direct and control that creation.

You have the ability to create yourself – who do you want to be and how do you want your physique to reflect that. I choose to express myself in the movement and study of the martial arts, others do so in the development of muscle mass, still others in the grace and fluidity of a craft …however you choose to express yourself do so with the best possible tools – train your body to respond to each command and demand you place upon it. Get fitter, get stronger, become more flexible and enjoy the exponential increase in the options of your expression.

(My apologies if this is overly metaphysical, but I do have a degree in philosophy and am thus cursed with trying to find the deeper meaning in lifting weights ;-))

Do you want gains like this and to pack on a load of lean muscle tissue yourself? Then get this program - Optimum Anabolics - Check it out here.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Day 3 Week 2 – Legs Workout

Superset 1
Leg Ext; 55(x 12), 77 (x 10), 88 (x 10), 110 (x 8)
Leg Curl; 66 (x 12), 88 (x 10), 99 (x 10), 99 (x 8)

Superset 2
Calf Raises; 88 (x 12), 110 (x 10), 110 (x 10), 132 (x 8)
Deadlift; 88 (x 12), 110 (x 10), 110 (x 10), 132 (x 8)

Superset 3
Seated Calf Raises; 88 (x 12), Stopped Immediately
Barbell Squat; 132 (x 12). – Stopped Immediately

All lifts are in lbs

Notes and impressions

I didn’t want to do this workout. I’d just finished training 3 clients back to back and damn near killing them in their sessions. Pushing people to their limits takes a great deal of energy, although it does offer incredible job satisfaction. Today was particularly intense for everyone. By the end of it they were exhausted and happy, the endorphins of exercise happily flowing – I was just tired. As I left I didn’t want to motivate myself to do the workout. I thought, eh I’ll skip it, my legs are fine, I’ve hard a long day, I’m tired. All I wanted to do was go home and settle down with a good book.

I stopped and caught this dangerous thinking. Knowing when to take a break is not the same as giving yourself permission to not push yourself when you need to. A lesson I had just spent three hours reinforcing. What kind of a trainer would I be if I shirked my responsibility, not to my clients to stay in shape and in great physical condition, but to myself?

If I give in to that desire to quit – it tells me something about my character.

It tells me I quit when I don’t have to. It tells me that I would rather take the easy option than the worthwhile one. It tells me that I do not have the belief in my own principals and statements. It tells me about a man I do not want to be.

So I went to the gym, in the pouring rain to a workout I didn’t have the energy or motivation to do. Not out of guilt, but out of a sense of pride in myself and my standards. Something that perhaps is missing in a few of the people I have met. But I’ll leave that to a later update.

I have never been so glad of making that decision.

By the time I left he changing room I was on fire. I was ready to lift heavier, with better technique and to beat the memory of last week’s poor leg workout into the ground. And I did. My legs felt pumped, tight and worked.

That said you will note that on the last Superset I stopped after the first set. This is because on the 8th repetition of my barbell squats I felt my right tweak - a slight but definite sharp momentary pain. I finished the set and called it a day. I didn’t push though the pain. I didn’t try to prove some macho self impressing point to let everyone not paying the slightest bit of attention to me how tough I am. I stopped. Now that may seem like the action of a quitter – but that is one of the differences between when I was an ignorant amateur and a professional.

It’s a question of responsibility and professionalism. You must be responsible for pushing yourself to do the workouts you don’t want to do. To be responsible for your actions or lack thereof determines your physique, your belief and your character. Being responsible enough to say that’s enough and not try to prove a point is also. I could have continued and worked through it and substantially increased the risk of injury and then lack of gains and failure to make meet my goals.

Take responsibility for your condition. Once you accept that, there are no more boundaries, no more set backs - Only changes and choices.

Do you want to make incredible gains and to pack on a load of lean muscle tissue yourself? Then get this program - Optimum Anabolics - Check it out here.

Thursday, September 28

Thursday, September 28

Day 4 Week 2 - Back

Superset 1
Machine Row; 44 (x 12), 66 (x 10), 88 (x 8.), 99 (x 8.)
Wide Arm Lat; 66 (x 12), 77 (x 10), 88 (x 8.), 99 (x 8.)

Superset 2
Twisting Dumbbells; 27.5 (x 12), 27.5 (x 10), 33 (x 8.), 33 (x 8.)
Chin Ups; 66 (x 12), 77 (x 10), 77 (x 8.), 77 (x 8.)

Superset 3
Close Grip Machine Row; 44 (x 12), 66 (x 10), 88 (x 8.), 99 (x 8.)
Close Grip Lat Pull Down; 66 (x 12), 77 (x 10), 88 (x 8.), 99 (x 8.)
All lifts are in lbs

Notes and impressions

Slight irritation as half the gym was closed off and the gym bunnies, the girls who attend the gym in flawless make up and practice posing and pouting over lifting and working seemingly decided to call a major conference between their colleagues at every station I needed. Very very annoying. I wouldn’t mind if they were using it to ,lift weights, they are as entitled as I am, but it was gossip central today so I needed to modify things a little. Grr. Arg.

Do you want to make incredible gains and to pack on a load of lean muscle tissue yourself? Then get this program - Optimum Anabolics - Check it out here.

Friday, September 29, 2006

Friday, September 29, 2006

Day 5 Week 2 – Chest and Abs

Superset 1
Dumbbell Fly; 22 (x 12), 27.5 (x 10), 27.5 (x 8.), 33 (x 8.)
Dumbbell Press; 22 (x 12), 27.5 (x 10), 33 (x 8.), 38.5 (x 8.)

Superset 2
Incline Dumbbell Fly; 27.5 (x 12), 22 (x 10), 22 (x 8.), 22 (x 8.)
Incline Bench Press to Neck; 66 (x 12), 66 (x 10), 66 (x 8.), 66 (x 8.)

Superset 3
Twist Crunch; BW (x 12), BW (x 10), BW (x 8.), BW (x 8.)
Hanging Knee Raise; BW (x 12), BW (x 10), BW (x 8.), BW (x 8.)

All lifts are in lbs

Notes and impressions

Week two is over. All in all I enjoyed it. Although I lifted more weight per exercise, I felt this week go by faster and felt it was far easier. I was less sore, though as I write this I can feel a twinge in my calves, hamstrings and triceps to remind me that perhaps I am being a bit too liberal with that statement.

Today’s Chest exercise was interesting – I hadn’t recovered sufficiently. The Pecs found at the top of my chest were extremely sore and tender and this necessitated dropping the individual weight from last week. I found it hard, and by the end completely impossible to adequately contract any of my chest muscle.

Consulting the book this program is taken from it appears to be appropriate. I should just be entering a stage of overtraining which the third week, which I shall affectionately refer to as HELL week, is going to crank into overdrive.

The theory on this is that in promoting a gradual build up to a very overtrained state that the body will Hyper Compensate and produce vast amounts of testosterone and build huge amounts of muscle. Well see shortly, though I have to say the results are impressive so far.

Do you want to make incredible gains and to pack on a load of lean muscle tissue yourself? Then get this program - Optimum Anabolics - Check it out here.





Check out my latest gains in Optimum Anabolics Review Week 3

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