BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1) Height: 5'10"

2) Weight: 260

3) Number of years training seriously: 14 years

4) Training experience, including current program: I've used several different approaches to training ranging from P.O.F when I was younger to max-effort training over the past 5-6 years. Most recently I've adapted my program to the core principles CT has discussed on T-Nation.

5) Olympic-lift variations you know how to perform: Competitive lifts and variations.

6) Athletic background: Basketball, Football, and Soccer

7) Primary fitness goal (choose one): Body Recomposition

8) Secondary fitness goal (choose one): Gain Muscle

9) Days per week you can train: 7 Days

10) Amount of time available to train each workout: 1 hour to 90 minutes split into 2 sessions

11) Time of day you train: Early Morning and Mid-afternoon

12) Do you have certain days available for twice-a-day workouts? Yes, most days during the Summer.

13) Your daily schedule: Nothing set in stone during the Summer other than writing my thesis.

14) Current injuries (if any): Nothing current. I have a permanently torn pec-major on my left side, and a surgically repaired left shoulder. I was 17 years old at the time of the injury and surgery.

15) Lifts (if any) you need to avoid due to safety issues: None.

16) Do you currently have trouble falling asleep at bedtime? Usually. Very rarely do I not take melatonin, Z-12, or Sleep MD.

17) When you wake up in the morning, are you an easy starter or you do
need some extra time and stimulants to start your day? Not a morning person at all. I usually wake-up and have a Spike shooter or have it prior to training or challenging mental activities.

18) Health issues (diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.): I am borderline hypertensive.

19) Total calories consumed on training days: I have not been tracking my caloric intake for the last 6 months. Prior to this period of time I usually would consume on average 3200 cals on training days.

20) Total calories consumed on non-training days: Subtracting the peri-workout nutrition protocol my total caloric intake fell between 2600 to 2800 calories.

21) Total grams of carbs consumed on training days: Usually limited to fruit intake in the morning and AM snack and peri-workout nutrition. In the morning usually 50-70g with peri-workout nutrition adding 32g in the form of SWF.

22) Total grams of carbs consumed on non-training days: Limited to 100 g per day, and usually below that.

23) Describe in detail your workout nutrition: I usually consume 1 scoop of SWF regardless of training day. MAG-10 and Anaconda vary depending on the training day.

I'll be posting in my log all of the pertinent information very soon. My best friend is getting married today, and I have not been able to update so far. Today is Day 4 and everything is going pretty well so far.

Has anyone noticed any significant differences between having starchy carbs v fruits? I prefer to eat fruits vs oats or rice, but I want to optimize what I am doing thus far.

Day 1: Training

5-Star DL Complex: Completed 5 Rounds
Rack Pull: 495x5
Deadlift: 405x3
Hang Clean: 185x5
Snatch Jump: 65x10
Bound: 8 reps per set

Session 2: Back Width
Hammer Strength Rows, Outside Handle: 6 sets of 8-10 reps, ramped weight up to final set of 8 with 3 plates and 25 per side
A1: Straight Arm Pulldown: 4x10 reps with 2 second pause
A2: Lat. Pulldown 2 second pause, 4x10

B1: Decline DB Row: 80lbs 3x8
B2: Dual Cable Row: 100lbs 3x8

Bicep curls: 10x10

Nutrition:
Periworkout Nutrition: 3 scoops Surge Workout Fuel, 3 scoops MAG-10, 1 scoop ANACONDA

Meal 1: Cup of Pineapple, and 4 turkey sausage patties

Meal 2: Oats, with cinnamon, 4 whole eggs and 4 turkey sausage patties, and 1/4 cup of mild cheddar

Peri-workout Nutrition: 2 scoops Surge Workout Fuel, 2 scoops MAG-10, and 2 scoops ANACONDA

Meal 3: 8 oz. Chicken Breast, with almonds, and sauteed spinach

Day 2: Training

Front Squat (Olympic): 355x3
Back Squat: 515x5

Incline Press: Ramped up for Speed work to 185x3

Seated DB Military: 40 lbs for 15reps with speed emphasis

This training session was a bit shorter than normal, primarily because my low back was destroyed from the huge amount of volume for the FS and BS. I couldn't do much in terms of upper body press work because this was the worst day of neck spasms that I have had in quite some time. The following sessions were much better for upper body pressing.

Day 2 Nutrition:
Peri-workout Nutrition: 4 scoops Surge Workout Fuel, 3 Scoops MAG-10

Meal 1: 8oz Chicken Breast, 1 cup cantaloupe

Meal 2: Pure Pro shake, 50g protein post training

Meal 3: 8 oz. chicken breast, sauteed spinach, with almonds after seeing Hangover 2 (which was AWFUL)

Not much food was eaten on this day, primarily because I don't usually eat much when I squat. I've always been this way.

Day 3: Training

A1:Seated Military Press: Ramped up to 195x3, and wave-loaded down to 170, 180, 185, 190
A2: Blast Strap Face Pulls sets of 10 throughout pressing

Incline Press: Ramped up to 205x3, and 225x1, and wave loaded down to 175, 185, 190, 195
Cable Face Pull: sets of 10 up to Set with 225

Decline DB Press: All sets of 5 or more, 60x5, 70x5, 80x5, 80x5, 80x5, 60x10, 70x8
DB High-Pull w/hip movement: Sets of 10 throughout Pressing

Seated Overhead Triceps Extension: 5x6-8 reps with 80 and 90lb Ez-curl bar

Day 3: Nutrition
I really like pineapple. I really do.

Meal 1: Eggs, turkey bacon, and pineapple

Peri-workout Nutrition: 3 scoops Surge Workout Fuel, 2 scoops MAG-10, and 2 scoops of ANACONDA

Meal 2: 8 oz Chicken Breast, almonds, and an apple

Meal 3: Rehearsal Dinner for best friend's wedding, included spaghetti casserole, chicken fingers, green beans, and pound cake covered in strawberry goo and whipped cream. It was delicious, and I felt really awful about it afterward. My inner fat chick had a ball.

Day 4: No training because of Best Friend's Wedding.

The Minister was over an hour late, which is beyond ridiculous.

Nutrition: Nutrition was off again, but I managed to eat plenty of fruit at the reception and limited myself to one piece of cake, and no it was not the size of the plate or my head.

I did managed to get 2 meals in later in the evening to sort of set the record straight so to speak. I had chicken and broccoli with steamed rice, and a bit of steak and eggs for pre-bed dinner.

Day 5: Training

Deadlift: 135x5, 225x5, 315x3, 365x3, 405x3, 455x3, 495x3, 545x3, 605x1
Felt like going for the single, even though today was not a "good" day and in fact I felt pretty crappy the whole time. My sleep pattern sucks balls.

Sumo DL: 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 365x5, 405x5

A1: Hamstring Curl: 4x6, worked up to 180lbs
A2: Back extensions: 4x10

Push-Press: Speed, barx5, 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 155x5, 175x5, 185x5

Newdamage and I went and did more than an hours worth of sled dragging after our lifting session. It was AWESOME! Got to watch some older Asian gentlemen playing badminton in between bouts which was entertaining to say the least. The sled dragging was ad-libed but focused on crouched sled drags, rows, chest press, and ended with biceps and triceps drags as the "finisher".

Amazingly enough, I have noticed that the Indigo-3G makes me a bit warmer than usual, even without food on my stomach. Another interesting finding for me personally is that I sweat like a horse. Now, I sweat profusely all the time regardless, but this is some next level sweating. I have had some appetite issues over the past few days, but once I am back in my apartment this next week I should be able to correct my lack of food in the house problems. I am also expecting a package of useful goodies from Biotest this week. Hopefully the bastards at Fed-ex don't hold it for 4 additional days like they did this past week.

I understand that I-3G is going to "reset" the way our bodies handle carbohydrates. If the concentration is on fat-loss, then what would the initiation phase look like? Would it be enough to reduce carbs to the workout window, or would it be as simple as lowering overall caloric intake?

Thus far I have seen a reduction of 1" in the waist, and some significant leaning out in my shoulder girdle. I have been very happy with progress so far, and my workouts have been absolutely incredible. The pump after the sled drags today was persistent for nearly 2 hours in my upper arms and quads. Energy seems limitless, even if mental acuity wanes, which keeps the desire to keep training that much higher.

Being a veteran and knowing the difference between perceived alterations in workout quality to actual is a major plus, as everything I have noticed thus far has been very, very real. I am 5 days in and I am looking forward to the next 35 very much.

I am going to start a carb-cycle for the next phase, as I have a better idea of what I-3G can do for me and how I can maximize the effects. I am not going to have a true "low-carb" day as I will always use 2 scoops SWF regardless, but I will have a "lower-carb" day of 100g every third day.

That sort of plan puts me using a minimum amount of SWF for my back and biceps day, and my preference is to include 2-3 scoops Anaconda and 2 Scoops MAG-10 minimum as I like to train back with a ton of volume, and I like to stave off fatigue when training biceps as much as possible since local fatigue has always been a huge problem for this body part. I am looking forward to my next performance press session on Tuesday. I will have a NC session tomorrow and will try to get out and drag the sled again in the afternoon.

Well, I had a NC session yesterday but was unable to get out and drag the sled.

Today was a complete waste, as my neck spasm worsened to the point where I could not turn my hear over my right shoulder. I've gotten an adjustment today and will be going in for soft tissue work tomorrow or Thursday. I am scheduled for a FMS tomorrow and will report back the findings here.

I will be training in the A.M. and again in the late afternoon.

First training session:

My neck and right shoulder are still giving me problems. This was not a very good session at all, and it pisses me off.

Military: Ramped sets of 3, 95, 115, 135, 155, 175, 185, 195, 205
Push Press: Ramped: 205x5, 210x5, 215x3, 225x3
Incline Press: 135x5, 145x5, 155x5, 165x5, 175x5, 185x5
Bench Press: 135x5, 155x3, 185x3, 205x3, 225x3 (my right shoulder really acted up on bench)

Squat: 135x5, 225x3, 315x3, 405x3, 475x3

Heading to have an FMS evaluation. I'll report back afterward, and I am still heading back to the gym for an isolation session around 6 or 7.

Yep, I failed the FMS. I have serious scapular mobility issues and trunk rotation problems as well. I'm starting the scapular mobility stretching routine today, and I will likely have to cut out overhead press work for the time being. Hopefully, I can clear up these issues and start progressing again, because my upper body lifts have suffered over the past 3 months. The thing about all this is I used to do a good bit of mobility work prior to my training sessions, but because of my class schedule and work I fell into the trap of getting into the gym lifting and going home. I completely left out mobility and activation work from my routines and it has cost me substantial progress. That all changes today.

I am going to the gym to have an isolation session tonight as planned.

Well, I had my second session today. I really miss my old gym. It is a major pain in the ass to try to get anything done at the Campus Rec Center.

Anyway, my isolation session went pretty well.

Session 2: Isolation Work
Hammer Chest Press: 6 sets of 8-10 reps, went as high as a plate and a 25 trying to not aggravate my neck and shoulder.

Power Fly: 4x12
Bench Push-up: 4x8

Incline Machine Press: 3x10
Machine Fly: 3x10 (this is a terrible machine and I will not be using it again.)

Stop Front Raise: 2x10
Front Raise: 2x10
Head Supported Lateral Swing: 2x20

Lateral Raise: 3x10 (used light weight and focused on squeezing the delts at the top. This made my neck and shoulder fell a good bit better.)

I have a young lady coming over shortly, so if you'll excuse me. I'll report back tomorrow.

Today is squat day! My second full lower body day on I-3G. I am pretty excited about today's session. I am going to GPP post session with a friend of mine. First things first I am going to get a deep tissue massage for my upper back and neck. I hope that this is another positive step to correcting these problems I am having.

The deep tissue work was fantastic. I am feeling 1000% better. I retook the SFMA portion of the FMS and I passed all but one test. These are very good signs, and I should be well rested and relatively pain free for my sessions tomorrow. I am going to move today's session to tomorrow. I will squat in the A.M. and again in the P.M. with sled drags after the second session. I am making good fat loss progress so far, and I am very excited.

How often to you get deep tissue work done?

I usually get it done once every 3 months, but with the amount of training sessions and cumulative volume I am bumping it to once a month. I am going to have a second session for my anterior/posterior shoulder girdle next week. That session will be an hour with at least 30 additional minutes spent on my lateralis and IT bands.

A buddy of mine came in to town tonight, and we will be destroying an A.M. session and a mid-afternoon session for lower body performance. Later in the evening we'll be dragging for fat loss, since it is so DAMN HOT here. Sometimes living in the South is just miserable.

A.M. Training Session:
A1: Hang Clean: 135x5, 135x5, 155x5, 185x5, 205x5, 4 sets of 225x5
A2: Vertical Jump: 9x5

B1: Front Squat: (wrists were tight from hang clean, used straps to hold bar) All sets of 3
135, 185, 225, 245, 275, 295, 315
Wave Load: 275, 295, 315, 335, 365

Second Session will be early evening. May not get to sled drag today since it is so ridiculously muggy and hot. We've actually broken triple digits already the past 3 days. Maybe we'll get out after the second session for some lower body drag work.

Headed in to have a back/biceps session and drag later this afternoon.

I had two very good sessions today. Split between a back/biceps session and a sled session.

Session 1: Width Emphasis, Upper Back Finisher, Biceps

Performed with 2 second squeeze at finish position
A1: Seated Cable Row: 5x10 (last 2 sets with 120lb)
A2: Lat Pulldown: 5x 8-10 (last 2 sets with 120lb)

B1: DB Row: 5x6
B2: Straight Arm-pulldown: 5x8 (final set was a drop set, 3 drops 20lbs per drop)

C1: Incline Reverse Fly: 4x10 (raised my sternum a bit higher on the bench and really felt the muscles in the upper back working much harder than last week's session.)
C2: 1-arm DB Shrug: 4x6

Standing EZ-Curl: 4x10

Hammer Curl: 1x8, 1x10, 1x12

Drag Curls: 3x10

SLED DRAGS: Row/Curl Emphasis with Metabolic Drags for Distance at the end of the session.

Tomorrow will be an Upper Body Press day if my shoulders are feeling better, and if not it will be a NC and drag day again.

Nutrition for Today:
Periworkout Nutrition: 3 Scoops SWF, with 3 Scoops MAG-10.

Protein Shake, and almonds for mid-day snack.

Lunch: 6" chicken breast Subway sandwich on white bread w/small amount of honey mustard.

Sled Work: 2 scoops MAG-10

Dinner: Steak, asparagus, and water

Late Nite Snack: Almond butter, with 86% Dark Chocolate (2 squares)

I'm probably not eating enough, but I am just not that hungry with all the training I am doing. I am not showing signs of overtraining, or even overreaching so I am not exactly sure why this is other than I really want to drop as much fat as possible over the next 30 days. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day, and I will be able to get these people out of my house so I can get back to a somewhat normal behavioral pattern.

I did not train yesterday because of being run down and extremely achy.

Training Session: Lower Body

Squat: 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 315x3, 365x3, 405x3, 455x3, 495x3, 545x1, 585x1, 635x1, 635x1 (could have done 3-5 reps at 635, but wanted to stay fresh for the second squat session this week)

Hang Snatch: BBx5, 95X5, 115x5, 135x3, 145x3, 155x3, 165x3, 175x3, 185x1
135x5, 135x5, 135x5

DL: 135x5, 225x5, 315x5, 365x5, 405x5

Decline Press: 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 155x5, 165x5, 175x5, 185x5, 205x5

Tension Leg Press: 250x25, 330x25 (maintained slight knee bend and tried to force as much blood into the legs as possible)

BW: 257
Waist: 39.5"
Biceps: 18" both arms
Thigh: R, 28 3/4" L, 29"
Chest: 48 1/2"

Trained today: I hate having a completely F-ed shoulder girdle. I pop my clavicle up and down all the time now, and I have to go in for an adjustment tomorrow. Things are getting better overall, but this constant shifting is a pain in my ass.

Pressing:
Bench Press: 115x5, 135x5, 155x5, 185x5, 200x5, 210x5, 215x5, 225x5, 235x3, 245x3, 255x3, 260x1
210x5 (3sets), 225x5, 225x4

I performed a superset with blast strap face pulls w/external rotation until some ploob said I couldn't use the machine that way as it was not the "proper" use for the smith machine. I was nice about it and pulled the blast straps down.

B1: Incline Power Fly: 3x10 with 50 and 60 lbs
B2: Med. Ball Throw: 3x10

Because of my clavicle moving around during the incline flys, and my left tricep suddenly flaring up I decided to call it a night. This was definitely not my best press day.