Smu2's Max-OT Journal

[smu2]

After you read this (if you do, VERY long) any comments and crits on diet or routine would be great.

After four weeks of doing Max-OT and completely changing my diet and determination towards lifting, I couldn't be happier with my gains. I wanted to keep an online journal to show my progress, but I'm so busy with work (interning in the city this summer, am going to be a sophomore in college next year) and all that I never really had the time. I have all my weekly workout stats on paper though, and it is the weekend now, so heres a big update:

4 WEEKS AGO, BEFORE LIFTING:
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 155.8lbs
BF: 9%

I'm a clear cut ectomorph/hardgainer. I've always been very thin and lean (always had the six/eight pack even if I was doing no exercise). I also swam competitively for 5 years and rowed for one year, which kept me in good cardiovascular condition and gave me slight increase in muscle endurance, but kept the pounds off even more. At 6'1", I really want to gain at least 15-20 pounds. I'm not swimming or rowing anymore, so I am devoting my athletic time first and foremost to lifting (I also like basketball :thumbup

I've lifted on and off for a year and a half or so (did all the beginner stuff finding out on my own), and while I was rowing this past year in college, I did a ton of research (on this site and others, you guys are great!), so I know a fair amount about lifting and all I needed to do was apply it. I decided, though, that if I was going to do it, I was going to do it all the way. Mainly for the reason that I would see the best gains the fastest, which would make me feel better about lifting and help me not burn out.

Diet changes I made:
The biggest diet change was just eating more. I get full pretty quickly, so I always never ate that much, and definitely not well enough or enough to gain any sort of poundage. The smaller and more frequent meals help a lot. This definitely changed.

I only drink water now, at least a gallon a day. I always carry either a water bottle around with me or what not, am always drinking it. This was hard at first, I was never a big water drinker, in fact, I hated it! But, after a week of forcing it down, I love it now. It's so satisfying, I can't imagine drinking anything else. I had a gatorade one day to try and get a little sugar in me to stay awake at the office (I can't have caffine or else I get a migraine), and I thought it tasted gross.

I have a clear cut diet, which at first was a struggle, but now has become routine and so easy for me to follow. This is my diet during hte week, weekends I do whatever and just make sure I eat enough.

700am: Bowl of cereal with 10 ounces milk and 2 cheese sticks
930am: Half of large turkey sandwhich
1030am: Half of large turkey sandwhich
1230pm: 3 Hard boiled eggs and a yogurt
300pm: slice of big pizza with meatballs (this is more of the "junk food" for the day.
430pm: protein shake
730pm: protein bar (pre-workout)
830pm: protein shake with creatine and simple carb complex
930ishpm: dinner, whatever we have, always protein and carbs and healthy
1100pm: either a protein shake or food to amount for the same nutritional value.

This comes to about 2300-2400 calories, with 300+p/250+c/50?f

Going to work helps me keep to this exactly, because its easy to stay keep a routine. If I wasn't working so early, I'd be getting up late, missing meals, goofing off, etc.

I researched Max-OT at ast-ss.com, and I found this routine to be the most convincing I've seen yet, so I decided to give it a go. Now, this is my first real routine, so I can't make an comparisons of how other routines would have affected my body, but all I can say is, holy ****! Here's my routine and my gains so far:

(This workout is a variation of one of Jeff Willet's suggested routines, changed to put in lifts that I prefer to do) All lifts include warmups and/or weight acclimation

Monday (Back/Traps)
3 sets Deadlifts, 4-6 reps
2 sets Seated Rows, 4-6 reps
2 sets Lat pulldown, 4-6 reps
1 set Bent over Rows, 4-6 reps

2 sets barbell shrugs, 6-8 reps (found 4-6 reps too low for traps to feel anything because no wrist straps)
2 sets dumbbel shrugs, 6-8 reps

Tuesday (Shoulders/Tris)
3 sets Seated Military Barbell Press, 4-6 reps
2 sets Side Laterals, 4-6 reps
2 sets Rear Laterals, 4-6 reps

3 sets French Press, 4-6 reps
2 sets Tricep press down, 4-6 reps

Wednesday (Legs/Calves)
3 sets squats, 4-6 reps
3 sets leg press, 4-6 reps
2 sets stiff legged dead lifts, 4-6 reps

2 sets standing calf raises, 6-8 reps
2 sets seated calf raises, 6-8 reps

Thursday (Abs/Bis)
3 sets weighted situps, 8-12 reps
2 sets weighted leg raises, 8-12 reps

3 sets dumbbell curls, 4-6 reps
2 sets hammer curls, 4-6 reps

Friday (Chest)
3 sets DB FB, 4-6 reps
3 sets DB IB, 4-6 reps
2 sets DB DB, 4-6 reps

Saturday and Sunday are off days.

Gains so far:
(Took out deadlifts for two weeks, but they are back in now, so I'm not sure of gains yet.)
Squats: STARTED: 6 reps@145, NOW: 5 reps@205 (probably could have started at a bit more, but oh well :P)
DB Flat Bench: STARTED: 45's, NOW: (doing fourth week tomorrow, will go with 65's)
DB Curls: STARTED: 30's, NOW: 40's (just did them today, felt sooo good)
French Press: STARTED: 45's, NOW: 60+
Lat Pulldown: STARTED: 140, NOW: 160
Military Press: STARTED: 65, NOW: 90

CURRENT STATS:
Weight: (After a lift with a shake in me, the creatine and water weight cause I drink so much probably play a part too, but I'm really proud of this) 167.6
Body Fat: 7.4%

I know everyone on the board says that you can't cut and bulk at the same time, but I seem to be doing somewhat of this. I have a really fast metabolism, so I think this is why I can do it, but I am putting on a lot of weight and losing bodyfat, which is great because I didn't want to have to put on fat and lose my definition just to gain weight. I think its also because I have taken junk food completely out of my diet and am eating basically totally clean now.

Honestly, these past four weeks have been a real test for me, and I've proven to myself that I have the motivation to do this long term. The results I've seen (looking in the mirror is the best part!) have made me so excited about lifting, that I'm anxious to get to my next session. Im glad I'm doing Max-OT too, because the short sessions I think will keep me from getting burned out.

I know this is a very long post, more of a catch-up journal, but I wanted to put one up. From now on I am going to try and put all my workouts into this journal, because while putting it on paper is ok (I lost one of my sheets, and they get messy after a while), havin a soft copy is something I should probably have. I have 5 more weeks for this routine before I go on a family trip for two weeks (Max-OT says 1 week off, I hope two won't hurt), and at the end I will post before and after pics.

Thanks again to everyone at the site for being really helpful, and especially Todd, because I found ast-ss.com in one of his posts, and I think Max-OT is awesome.

~Smu2

[smu2]

Ended my fourth week today with chest because I had to push all my exercises back a day when the gym was closed on Memorial Day. I was really pleased:

DBFB:
6x65's
6x65's
4x65's

DBIB:
6x55
5x55
4x55

DBDC:
3x55 (was i was dead by now)
5x50

I was really happy with what I did with the 65's, because I didn't even try them last weak so I wasn't sure if I was ready for them. I'm going up to 70's next week, from 45's 4 weeks ago!

My legs are also totally sore since thursday. It hurts to get up and sitdown and get out of a car. Basically any thing with my legs hurt. Looks like I gave them quite the beating :thumup:

~Smu2

[smu2]

Had back/traps today. The back workout was great, am still feeling it right now, but I really need to get wrist straps to work the traps better. They are seeing progress, but I can't overload them as the barbell or dumbbells slip out of my hands. I started doing deadlifts again today, straps would also help with those, but the over/under hand grip helped me keep a hold on the bar. My hands are pretty torn, but I didn't crew for a year, so I can handle it.

The workout:

Deadlifts:
4x205+ (slipped, here I changed to the over/underhand grip)
6x205++
6x225, I can increase even more, though I definitely feel worked.

Seated Cable Rows:
6x170 it was ok, but I think i was sacrificing form just a little more than Id like too, so I dropped it down slightly.
6x160, not bad, hopefully 170 will be perfect next week
5x160

Lat Pulldown:
6x160 good, but I dropped down because I knew the next set would probably be too hard to stay at 160
6xs150 good, hopefully I will also be able to do all sets at 160 next week.

Traps, I did assorted dumbbell and barbell sets, but with my hands slipping and whatnot, it wasnt a very organized routine. I still feel like accomplished something, as in better than nothing, but the straps will definitely help for next week.

Not a bad day at all, felt good getting back into deadlifts.

[smu2]

I had a good shoulder/tris workout today. Also, my whole back is ridiculously sore today, signaling a good workout yesterday :

Barbell Military Press to the Front:
6x90
5x90
4x90

Eh, ok, I didn't increase from last week, so I decided to do some dumbbell military press instead of side laterals.

6x40
6x40

A workout, but not enough, will do 45s next week

Rear Laterals:

6x25
6x25

I go to 6, but form slips at like 5 or so, so they are good. At this point my shoulders feel like they are going to die, so now its triceps time.

French Press:

Got ambitious and tried to go for 85, was too heavy.

4x85
4x80
5x75

My triceps felt killer though, so it was all good.

Tricep Press Down:

6x140, too easy
6x150, still too easy. I thought they might be a good weight because I was dead from french press, but I guess my triceps are sweet. Will increase next week

Thats about it, feeling huge as usual. The scale said that I weighed 166.2 with 6.2%bf. This is from around 8 or 9% at 155.8. I calculated it, and it appears I have gained 10+ pounds of muscle since four weeks and one day ago.

YES

[SurfinAmy]

Originally Posted by smu2

I'm a clear cut ectomorph/hardgainer. At 6'1", I really want to gain at least 15-20 pounds.

I was never a big water drinker, in fact, I hated it! But, after a week of forcing it down, I love it now. I had a gatorade one day to try and get a little sugar in me to stay awake at the office and I thought it tasted gross.

Gains so far:
(Took out deadlifts for two weeks, but they are back in now, so I'm not sure of gains yet.)
Squats: STARTED: 6 reps@145, NOW: 5 reps@205 (probably could have started at a bit more, but oh well :P)
DB Flat Bench: STARTED: 45's, NOW: (doing fourth week tomorrow, will go with 65's)
DB Curls: STARTED: 30's, NOW: 40's (just did them today, felt sooo good)
French Press: STARTED: 45's, NOW: 60+
Lat Pulldown: STARTED: 140, NOW: 160
Military Press: STARTED: 65, NOW: 90

I have 5 more weeks for this routine before I go on a family trip for two weeks (Max-OT says 1 week off, I hope two won't hurt), and at the end I will post before and after pics.
~Smu2

Ectormorph is fine Smu - actually I've always found the hard lean look quite attractive. I know what you mean about the water. Once you get used to having it you feel ***** without your water bottle or something. Last week I drank a Coke and it tasted like syrup or something. These are some great gains, good progress. I look forward to seeing your pics.....
-Amy

[SurfinAmy]

That word up there (*******) says nak_d - see if that comes out - why would that word be screened out? Seems harmless enough!!! lol
-Amy

[smu2]

will be posting them in a couple weeks amy, I'm looking forward myself to seeing the two pics side by side.

Todays workout was good and bad. It was supposed to be legs/calves, but after three extremely intense sets of squats and three extremely intense sets of leg press, I was just totally and absolutely drained. I ended up dropping my two sets of stiff legged dead lifts and am going to start doing calves on friday with chest instead. Legs are just the only body part that really drains all the energy from me in such a way, its ridiculous.

I didn't really go into the workout really motivated either, which probably didn't help. I was really tired after work today, but I'm not too disappointed.

Squats:
210x6
210x4
180x6 (I meant to take off only 15, but spaced out and took off 15 from each side =/)

Leg Press
270x6
295x6
320x6

Oh so hard, my legs are dead right now, so it was still a pretty ogod workout overall. Man, squats are killer.

[SurfinAmy]

Looks like an awesome leg workout...what more could you possibly need than that?
-Amy

[smu2]

yeah, I just wanted to get those two hamstring sets in - I definitely will next time though. I think I'm going to take a set off of leg press to stay intense throughout the whole workout.

~Smu2

[Firehawk]

I think it would serve you much better to do Squats and Straight Leg Deadlifts instead of those leg presses, or do leg presses as your third exercise man. SLDL's target the hamstrings directly!

Also, lookin at this part of your workout:

Monday (Back/Traps)
3 sets Deadlifts, 4-6 reps
2 sets Seated Rows, 4-6 reps
2 sets Lat pulldown, 4-6 reps
1 set Bent over Rows, 4-6 reps

2 sets barbell shrugs, 6-8 reps (found 4-6 reps too low for traps to feel anything because no wrist straps)
2 sets dumbbel shrugs, 6-8 reps


I would suggest that you do more than 1 set of BB Bent over rows, because they are the king of the lat builders. You will get more thickness out of doing those. Id suggest this (only my thoughts):

3 sets BB Bent Over rows 4-6 reps (good for getting thicker lats)
3 sets Deadlifts 4-6 reps (builds thickness in the lats)
3 sets Lat Pulldown 4-6 reps (good for getting wider lats)

You probably arent asking for advice, i felt i needed to say somethin, take it or leave it. The back is a big muscle group, and you can afford to do 3 sets of 3 exercises, where on a bicep workout you shouldnt. I LOVE MAX OT!

EDIT: For the traps, try Jaster Shrugs. I havent tried them only because the bar hits my butt when I try, but i hear they work wonders...

[smu2]

Thanks for the tips Firehawk!

You are totally right in the sense that stiff legged deadlifts are great. I usually do two sets after leg press, but I was just so tired yesterday that I couldn't do it. Next week, I'm going to do 3 sets squats, 3(or 2) sets stiff legged and then 2 sets leg press at the end. It is probably better that I get those hammy exercises in than spend all my energy doing a "squat-like, but not quite as good as squats" exercise like leg press.

This past Monday for my back day, I actually completely removed bent over rows from my routine and changed it to: 3 sets DL, 3 sets Seated Cable Rows 2 sets Lat Pull Down. You think I should just X out the SCR and replace them with bent over?

I'll check out the jaster shrugs too, I think Im also gonna get some wrist straps also just to have.

Thanks again

~Smu2

[Firehawk]

I think it is ESSENTIAL that you keep BB BEnt over rows in the routine man. There is no substitute, even cable rows. Just not the same. I pretty much gave you my routine of how I am doing it.

I do BB Bent Over rows, with reverse grip on both hands (fingers curl up on bar not down). (3 sets always)
Deadlifts are next (3 sets always)
Lat Pulldowns next (3 sets always)

Your back is a big muscle group. It can handle 9 sets. Your legs can also handle 9 sets. Its your smaller muscles like biceps that you shoudlnt do so much for. I usually do 3 sets of BB Straight bar curls, followed by 1-2 sets of DB Alternating curls, depending on just how tired i am decides 1 or 2 sets for the last exercise.

I think Seated cable rows are 'alright', but if you are lookin for the best exercises to do, I think first of all, doing as much free weight as possible is key, and second, BB bent over rows are much better. Just my opinion.

I am also not a fan of leg presses either man, but it can be a good "complimentary" exercise and thats about it if you ask me. Be sure to keep doing squats, preferably deep squats, and do the SLDL's as heavy as you can. You will notice the difference, trust me. After those 2 exercises, if you wanna do leg presses then ok. Another real tough but very very good exercise is lunges .

[smu2]

awesome, thanks Firehawk :. I was actually disappointed with my gains this week (almost done with my fifth week). I gained very little and definitely not as much as previous weeks. I think I'm going to give my workout a complete overhaul as far as the exercises I'm doing to really shock my body. I'll switch out SCR with BO rows.

Also, a big principle of Max-OT is the 4-6 rep failure, and I think that what could be affecting my gains is that I'm finishing 6 reps. I think I'm going to start doing weights where I fail at 4 or 5 to give my body something really hard to work with. Doing the set to 6 is still very hard, but I think my body might be adapting a bit to my current routine. Time to switch it up.

Just got back to abs/bis. A good workout, but I think I might be losing a bit of the original intensity that I had. Its probably from the long workday and long commute.

Abs:

Weighted Sit ups:
12x150
11x150
10x150

Weight leg Raises:
12x17.5
12x 17.5

A good ab set, I probably should increase and do less reps though. My abs are still pumping now though

Biceps

DBC

6x40
4x40
12x35

Hammer curls

6x35
2x40 (dropped down, didn't count hti set)
6x35

My biceps are killing me, all in all the workout feels very good, I'm just not really gaining on my lifts. Oh well

Thanks again hawk

[Firehawk]

If you can complete 6 reps, you need to increase the weight. If the next week you can still get 6 reps, you again need to increase the weight. Dont worry, it takes quite awhile before you really see significant muscle gain. Just keep doing it, being consistent, and keep upping that weight. If you are getting stronger, you are doing everything right. Just keep at it. If you can only get 4 reps for the workout, then you can only get 4 reps. The next week, dont increase the weight. You will probably be able to get 5 or maybe 6 reps at that weight, then the NEXT week, increase the weight. See how it works? : just keep goin.

[SurfinAmy]

Originally Posted by Firehawk

Dont worry, it takes quite awhile before you really see significant muscle gain. Just keep doing it, being consistent, and keep upping that weight...: just keep goin.

ya, hardest thing is patience and consistency I think. Good job on frying your biceps Smu!
-Amy