[Gopher]

This is me 4 weeks into a 6 week cutting phase. I'm 23, and have been training on and off for the last 8 years. Its my plan to build naturally until I max out my genetic potential. I know my legs are lagging and the heads of my bis need length...

Go to town on me, I've got thick skin!

[robcardu]

you know your flaws...u look good ...i think ur back needs to be wider and your legs some mass.........keep up the work bro.


.......and welcome

[RKO_RKO!]

Mate you look awesome. Real good stuff, plus I think you have a good skeletal structure. What is you height and weight btw?

You have asked for some citique, and I think, apart from the legs which you yourself recognized, I think you need to hit some trapezius and other upper back muscles, and maybe some forearms.

Keep it up bro

[NCBB]

Forearms and legs bro! The rest you have a good start on. Best of luck.

[Gopher]

Thanks for the feedback/suggestions so far guys.

RKO_RKO!,

I'm 5'10" 198 pounds and as of last monday 7.9% bf. I've got about two weeks of cutting left then I was planning on doing the Bill Star 5x5 program over x-mas break and hopefully do some clean bulking. It seems to marginalize quite a few body parts, but squatting 3x a week might be just what I need.

I know I'm definitely top heavy, but I do try to hit the legs. I generally hit calves 3x a week. For the last five weeks I've been doing the "Pump" program from Flex magazine and using the two weekend days to do cardio/a little heavy lifting (i.e. today I did heavy squats, calf raises and deadlifts).

I hadn't realized my forearms were really a weak point, and I'll definitely figure a way to put in a little extra work on them. Also, I think you guys might be right on the traps, I'll think up a way to encorporate some extra heavy shrugs or something that won't throw off the routine.

Thanks a lot and keep the suggestions rolling!

[fahad]

great work bro...try 2 tran quads, hams, and calves equally..like give it the same punshment as u give it 2 your lets say chest and arms...good luck....

[Rocky]

As above man! Made some really good gains! Look real good - just them bi's and legs for me, but I'm sure you'll bring 'em up!

[Gopher]

Thanks for the additional encouragement/suggestions guys.

fadhad, are you suggesting that overtraining those areas might be a problem? I generally try to hit upper legs atleast 2x a week (1 high rep volume & 1 heavy pyramid day) and calves atleast 3. I only hit chest and arms once a week. I've been really trying to weak point train the legs--I don't know if its genetic or what, but I can get them stronger and more cut--but the mass just isn't comming proportionally!

Does anyone any suggestions regarding bi training? Prior to adoping the Flex program I used to always try to hit a lot of preacher/concentration curls to try to lengthen the head. In a nutshell, my arms piss me off--they're pretty thick (about 18 and a quarter inches) but are so long they don't look it. I think I need atleast another inch on them before they'll start appearing impressive which of course will require more development everywhere.

In a way bodybuilding is sort of like my other hobby as an audiophile. By that I mean I'm completely obsessed with both an with every "upgrade" I make a flaw is revealed.

Thanks a bunch, bros!

[Moses_2024]

nice man

[Q80_MuscleHed]

nice work bro .. keep it up

[vdawg]

your delts are awesome man. keep it up

[shorty]

i have boxer shorts just like those but yellow

[shorty]

btw i think everything looks good but the back

[Manveet]

1) You are not 7.9% bf. You are much closer to 10-11%ish

2) Your legs are laggin behind badly, do you train them at all?

3) Other than 1 and 2, you look good man, nice work.

[Gopher]

Manveet,

I get my body fat tested with calipers every monday afternoon. Its a free service at my campus' gymnasium. The same person does it with 3 test site locations: chest, stomach and upper legs.

I felt that the numbers were a little low, but the monday before thanksgiving I got pinched at 8.6, two mondays later I got 7.9... *shrug* I'll scan the printout from my test tomorrow aftrnoon--maybe you can find what the defect is.

2. Yeah, I acknowledge my legs are lagging. As I tried to explain in my follow up posts I do hit them--I'm really weak point training them. I hit my calves 3x a week and my upper legs atleast 2x. I'm getting ready to start the Bill Star 5x5 program in about a week and a half--that will have me squatting 3 times a week--I'm really hoping that will lead to some better gains.. the effort is there though.

[fahad]

Originally Posted by Gopher

Thanks for the additional encouragement/suggestions guys.

fadhad, are you suggesting that overtraining those areas might be a problem? I generally try to hit upper legs atleast 2x a week (1 high rep volume & 1 heavy pyramid day) and calves atleast 3. I only hit chest and arms once a week. I've been really trying to weak point train the legs--I don't know if its genetic or what, but I can get them stronger and more cut--but the mass just isn't comming proportionally!

Does anyone any suggestions regarding bi training? Prior to adoping the Flex program I used to always try to hit a lot of preacher/concentration curls to try to lengthen the head. In a nutshell, my arms piss me off--they're pretty thick (about 18 and a quarter inches) but are so long they don't look it. I think I need atleast another inch on them before they'll start appearing impressive which of course will require more development everywhere.

In a way bodybuilding is sort of like my other hobby as an audiophile. By that I mean I'm completely obsessed with both an with every "upgrade" I make a flaw is revealed.

Thanks a bunch, bros!

u no your body more than any 1 here bro....if lets say u feel that your legs r lagging and u want 2 periodize them like 2 then train them twice a week then do it.....and wut i ment by trining them equally is like dont do like 4 exersice for quads and only 1 exersie for hams...so if u do 3 exersie for quads its betts 2 also do 3 exersie for hams.....i mean think of how many exersice u r doing for your biceps and triceps alone..... ..also make sure u give your muscles at least 2-3 days 2 recover b4 training them again....good luck bud...... :xmastongu .........

[serbmarko]

do you train legs?

[Gopher]

I don't want to sound like a ****, but I've said answered that like 3x. YES I trian legs--they are lagging definitely but I do hit them... 2x a week for upper legs and 3x a week for calves. I'm busting my butt trying to get them to grow and have only recently been seeing some progress.

[philosopher]

looking good bro...

[Gopher]

I got re-pinched today and this is the results of my final bodyfat analysis. If you see any flaws in the analysis please let me know.

[fazzarelli]

Gopher,

Great work so far...I can tell you are dedicated but you need some finishing touches.

First...THIGHS! Train at least 2x a week or even 3x (recuperation can be a problem with 3x). Focus on compound movements to build mass on your thighs: SQUATS, LEG PRESS, DEADLIFTS. You also need a little more bulk on your spinal erectors (lower back) but these compound movements will take care of that!

Second...BIS! You have good proportion on your upper body but your bis are not separated from your tris. Do a lot of dumbell curls for the separation (alternate, concentrated, machine).

Other than that, keep up the training and try to cut up your upper and middle back by doing more reps. Also, try doing some dumbell flys for your chest to bring out the separation. Don't be worried about BPI and bodyweight. Judges don't check your BPI or bodyweight on contest day...they judge your PHYSIQUE.

Good luck and SQUAT!

[Gopher]

fazzarelli,

thanks so much for the constructive criticism. I actually just began bulking this friday and will be encorporating a lot of your suggestions into my new routine. I am adopting the Bill Star 5x5 program (S,M,W instead of M,W,F) and it is going to have me squating 3x a week and deadlifting once for the next 9 weeks.

I'm only two days into the routine and can already tell its gonna be pretty f-ing brutal. Everyone I've talked to has made tremendous strength gains and significant lower body size gains from it, so I'm optomistic.

Unfortunately I'm not gonna be able to do a lot of bicep training while on this routine (aside from how they get hit in the compound lifts). Separation is definitely something I desire there, as well as some lengthening of the head. I'm allowed to throw in one low volume bicep exercise a week and think I'll dedicate it to preachers for the time being and really work the separation thing in late February when I start cutting again for spring break.

I am a little shy about fly movements for my chest, as I have a very bad left shoulder (has fully dislocated like 15+ times since a wrestling injury in high school). I do a lot of presses and pec dec flyes currently, also whenever I'm doing dumbell rather then barbell presses I tend to encorporate a pronating movement so I get a really hard contraction at the top of the movement--do you think this is an adaquate sub?

Thanks again, and you can bet I'll be Oly Squattin'.

[Mike.D]

What ya got looks good already but i personaly think you should work on your ABs some more


PS:
wow sorry a short reply when i want to compare to ya others out there i gotta write my comments some longer , hehe.

[fazzarelli]

Gopher,

Glad to hear about the leg training. It's gonna be brutal but you'll get used to it on week 4! In regard to your chest, I realize you have a bad left shoulder but pronating on dumbell bench presses will NOT help. The only thing that does is give you more inner chest thickness! I see a lot of guys doing exactly that thinking their chest will cut up and end up being disappointed after a while. Here are some ways you can cut up your chest and not injure yourself:

1) Dumbell Flys (using 15lbs dumbells) - 4 sets x 15 reps
2) Cable Crossovers (putting 30lbs on the stack) - 4 sets x 15 reps
3) Dumbell Incline/Decline Bench Presses - 4 sets 15,12,10,8 reps

If these weights are too light or heavy, adjust them. If you have a bad shoulder, it's better to use lighter weights to prevent injury! On the dumbell flys, you can alternate from flat to decline or incline but make sure you rotate them evenly (don't do more incline than decline or vice-versa).

I gurantee after 4 weeks your chest will have so many lines in them that it will look like a sword carved them. Good luck!

[giwrgosp82]

Try to add some muscle density in tour back.You're already very wide so what you need is some thickness in your delts and back.Also try doing compound movements like squats,leg presses etc,to develop your thighs.After that do touch up work with calves and hams.Dense thighs will give you a proportionate physique and bring your lower bady up to par with your upper development.

[Gopher]

Mike D.,

The abs are a work in progress yet. I'm hitting them pretty hard and frequently right now. They're actually typically a bit more prevalant then they are in those pictures. I need to work on them so they don't dissapear in different poses, but ironically they look best relaxed.

fazz,

Thanks for clearing that up for me. Shows I have much to learn still about this sport/science. I actually have been doing quite a bit of leg training prior to picking up the bill star program. I just got through 6 weeks of the flex pump plan which includes a nausatingly intense wed. leg day (w/ squats and leg presses) plus a weekend heavy leg day I threw in for s&gs. I think whats gonna tear the life out of me with this bill star program is the deads! I have a stronger deadlift then my lower back might suggest and doing 3x5 was friggin' brutal yesterday!

Thanks for those suggested movements. I have no problem loading a good amount on cable x-overs/various presses. Its just that I like a full ROM and when I'm doing flyes it leaves my shoulder particualrly vulnerable (especially on thinner benches w/o good shoulder blade support). 9 weeks from now I'll incorporate some of these principles in my pre-spring break cutting.

giwrgosp82,

Thanks for the tips there. I definitly don't plan on relenting from hitting my delts with all I have. The new program I'm on has me doing compound movements exclusivly, and I'm hoping that my upper legs will start comming around with the lower rep ranges. As for the lower legs... I'm praying, but these worthless calves don't like growing! They're getting more cut (will update with pictures soon) but the size just isn't filling in. My arms are actually 2 full inches thicker then them right now... its ridiculous. I wish they were touch up work, but they're more like primary focus parts.

alright, gotta shift focus back to my work--thanks guys.

[fazzarelli]

Gopher,

I noticed you wrote:

As for the lower legs... I'm praying, but these worthless calves don't like growing! They're getting more cut (will update with pictures soon) but the size just isn't filling in. My arms are actually 2 full inches thicker then them right now... its ridiculous. I wish they were touch up work, but they're more like primary focus parts.


I have a quick fix for this! Black men have a problem (usually) with calf development because the insertion of the gastrocnemius is too high. The best way to fix this is:

1) Donkey Calf Raises
2) Seated Calf Raises
3) Standing Calf Raises

Try to do calves 3x per week and DON'T DO THEM ON LEG DAY! A huge mistake a lot of bodybuilders make is doing calves on leg day. After a grueling workout of squats and leg press, your calves are not fresh to be doing 400lbs standing calf raises! I like to do them on days my legs aren't being used (Arms, Chest, Back, etc). Focus on 4 sets per exercise and no more than 15 reps (full range is key). Also, increase the weight after each set. I gurantee bigger calves after 4 weeks.

BLAST THOSE CALVES!!!

[Gopher]

Fazzarelli,

Thanks a bundle for the calf training suggestions. I hadn't heard of this condition previously and was fascinated although not entirely suprised to read it.

I am curious about one thing though--those seem to be among the calf exercises I typically imploy in a typical rep range. What kind of calf training would you have recommended for a caucasian bber who was better endowed in the calf department?

[bill william]

You look pretty imprssive

[Tatyana]

Are you still eating dairy? Said like ARnie "Dairy makes you look soft"