Powerbuilding: transformation report (pics!) & sanity-checking my plans going forward

[Raccoon Baboon]

First of all, huge thanks to the entire community and to coach Rippetoe in particular - wouldn't be able do any of this without the knowledge I learned from Rip's books and from this forum. English is also not my first language, so please bear with me.

So here are the pics:



Intro/background:

I'm 28, 174 cm (about 5'8''-5'9''). Used to be pretty athletic, did a lot of wrestling in my younger years. Did some weightlifting too, but that was mostly fooling around in the gym. I let myself go really bad at some point because life/job/etc (see pic 1) and decided it's time to do something about it. So I went back to the gym. At some point in late February I got annoyed that I was so weak now and started doing SS.

I admit to doing the "starvation strength" instead of the correct version initially - I didn't do too bad though, just under maintenance. So even though I could've probably progressed faster, I still did manage to get some results. When my weights stalled in July (I've deloaded once before that on most movements), I started eating more to bulk up - I was pretty happy with the fat loss at that point. This helped to de-stall for a while, and I also bulked up quite a bit in the process. Even though some of that was fat, strength&muscle gains were more important. I'm now confident that I can get leaner pretty easily when I want to.

After stalling for the 3rd and final time about 5 weeks ago on the classic SS with some additional weighted chins, I switched to a modified version of the Texas method. At that point I could squat 300 3x5, bench 205 3x5, OHP 135 3x5. My deadlift sucked because I couldn't get the technique right. Something has finally clicked in my brain about the same time I switched to the TM, so I'm now rebuilding the deadlift with proper form. After switching to the TM I've experienced steady progress, this week's numbers are: squat 320 1x5 (felt like there was quite a bit left in the tank), followed by deadlifting 320 2x5 (could probably do quite a bit more as well), also a 155 press 1x5 (this was hard) and a 255 chin-up 1x5 (210 is my own weight after eating a bunch of stuff + 45 on the dip belt).

Proposed training plan for the rest of the year (at least):

Going forward I want to keep doing this version of the Texas method (been doing it for a month now, seems to be working for me):

1. I do much more upper body volume than prescribed per the vanilla TM. I like the idea of powerbuilding - build strength first, but do some hypertrophy training as well. I feel that for a natural athlete this is the best way to reach the genetic potential in terms of hypertrophy, form following the function. I apply the same progressive overload methodology to the hypertrophy training as I do to the strength training, just in higher rep ranges. Also my legs and ass are now huge and I feel like my upper body is lagging behind in terms of size.
2. I split the training days between muscle groups because I have the spare time to train, and this way individual workouts are easier to manage (remember all the additional volume?). It also feels easier to recover from since I'm spreading the volume more smoothly over the week, although this might be bullshit.
3. I treat weighted chin-ups as a primary exercise and train it using the Texas method (I weigh myself before each workout and adjust the additional weight accordingly).
4. I don't do the classic bench press because it hurts my shoulders and because I don't have a good spotter. It also allows me to treat the overhead press the same way I treat squats and chin-ups, and I'm obsessive-compulsive about symmetry in everything. However I do do dumbbell benching and close-grip bench for the hypertrophy part of the workout so this should translate well if I decide to get back to the classic bench in the future.
5. For the upper body hypertrophy part, for both pulling and pushing, I add 1 additional compound movement for 5 sets of 5-8 (increasing the weight when I get 5x8) and 1 isolation movement for 3 sets of 12. I do this for both volume and intensity workouts - different movements though. Recovering hasn't been an issue so far (more on recovery in the "unnecessary part" below).
6. I do deadlift for 2 sets of 5 on the squat intensity day with the same weight as the squat, which is below my 5RM for the DL, but this allows me to stick to the strict form (see above regarding my DL woes). Also by doing 2 work sets instead of 1 I get to alternate the mixed grip between them for more symmetry.
   

This translates into:

Monday: intensity day for the upper body pushing.

• Press 1x5, dumbbell bench press 5x5-8, triceps cable pushdown 3x12
• Some recovery/additional volume for the upper body pull - 3 sets of max bodyweight pull-ups (pronated grip)
• Conditioning: usually burpees, 5 high-intensity intervals (working up from 1 minute intervals adding a few seconds each week).

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: volume day for the lower body and the upper body pulling.

• Squats 5x5, weighted back extensions 3x12
• Chins (supinated) 5x5, dumbbell rows 5x5-8, pronated-grip barbell curl 3x12 (train dat brachioradialis)

Thursday: volume day for the upper body pushing.

• Overhead press 5x5, close grip bench press 5x5-8, dumbbell lateral raises 3x12
• Abs if I feel like it

Friday: recovery day for everything.

• Front squats 3x3
• 3 or more sets of max chin-ups (neutral or pronated grip)
• Some conditioning thrown in: usually kettlebell swings, 5 high-intensity intervals (working up from 1 minute intervals adding a few seconds each week). This also works as the upper body push recovery because there's delt and trap involvement, and just general blood flow in the area. I could probably start doing some light overhead pressing here as well - I just don't want to have to come in on Saturday to do 2 sets of light press, that would be just stupid.

Saturday: rest

Sunday: intensity day for the lower body and upper body pulling.

• Squat 1x5, deadlift 2x5
• Chins 1x5 (supinated), classic barbell curl 5x5-8, cross-body hammer curl 3x12 (train dat brachialis).

Weight loss:
In terms of nutrition, the plan is to attempt a very slow recomp, targeting no more than 1 pound/week of fat loss. Will probably be faster initially since I'm carrying a lot of water and other stuff right now (see below), but after 1-2 weeks the weight loss should not exceed 1lb/week or even slower. I have pretty decent genetics with regards to muscle gain, so I think this should allow me to keep or slightly increase muscle mass while sloooowly loosing fat, effectively recomping. We'll see how it goes. Anyway, the plan is to do this for the rest of the year and reassess in early Jan (will be fun to see the 1 full years transformation results).

The hardest part about nutrition is that I can't track macros because I live in a dorm and eat at a canteen, so I have to go "by feel". My philosophy on this is to eat as much protein as I can, fill the rest with clean-ish carbs and fats, and hover at the satiation level (never let myself go hungry, but never getting too full either). I supplement food with whey, BCAAs, fish oil and ZMA.

Unnecessary information:
I've also just started graduate school, so I have more free time than I used to. My recovery is pretty good, I can cram in a lot of volume and still recover well from it - this might be due to residual adaptations to all the wrestling I did as a teen (4 hours of training 6 days a week isn't a joke to recover from). I'm endo-meso, with a high metabolic rate, so it's easy for me to gain or loose a lot of weight pretty fast.

I've just began eating for recomp last week but then got sick almost immediately (cold, really bad fever etc), got scared of loosing dem gainz and ate a huge amount of food for the past few days to prevent catabolism while sick. This seems to have worked because today I hit my strength targets as if I hadn't been sick at all, but I also gained about 5-6 pounds of weight, so right now I'm fatter than I look on the last pic. I guess most of it is water/glycogen and will go away fast, and even if it's fat I don't really care that much, I'm going to loose it anyway. Just for the sake of keeping track for the future - I'm at ~205 lbs now.

[ZB2]

Is it just me or do you have Trump's hair?

[Raccoon Baboon]

Is it just me or do you have Trump's hair?

The color is similar but mine is real and I have way more of it. I believe he's also dyeing it, bcuz if you look at his younger pics there's much less red in it.

[ZB2]

The color is similar but mine is real and I have way more of it. I believe he's also dyeing it, bcuz if you look at his younger pics there's much less red in it.

Good observation, but if i'm not mistaken

a) the sun itself, and general ambient lighting (ie no realistic LED lights at that time), had a different color temperature in the earlier 2000's and
b) camera technology has gotten much better since then and gives a truer representation of one's skin pigmentation, so all else being equal, camera alone could account for the differences we're perceiving

But that's really neither here nor there, because I believe you when you say you're not him

Anyway, if you're looking for a more hypertrophy specific scenario, I think you really need to work on the macro-nutrient aspects of the dietary plan. Personally I've never found much of a difference in using reps of 8 or higher, for whatever sets, some people swear that it works, but I believe they've lied to themselves that it's actually the macros accounting for all the changes. In fact you could probably stop training for a while and still gain muscle (at least for a while)..if you get the macros right

Did you say you're living on campus? Is there any way you can get a cook-top in your room?

[Raccoon Baboon]

Did you say you're living on campus? Is there any way you can get a cook-top in your room?

Yep, on campus. My dorm room is tiny and there are fire alarms everywhere, and I would also need a fridge to store all the stuff. The food in the canteen is pretty decent - good carbs (rice, baked potatoes, pasta), veggies and chicken or meat, plus the Chobani greek yogurt is awesome and I also use a lot of protein/BCAA supplements, so protein intake is not really a concern. I definitely get more that a gram per pound of bodyweight. The problem is tracking calories to maintain the optimal minimal level of caloric deficit. I don't really see a solution to this right now, so I just prefer to err on the side of caution here, potentially missing out on some fat loss. But yes, ideally I would do the tracking thing.

[Tiburon]

Nice work so far.

But in five weeks your squat went from 300 3x5 to 320 1x5. . . . is that really "progress?"

[Raccoon Baboon]

Nice work so far.

But in five weeks your squat went from 300 3x5 to 320 1x5. . . . is that really "progress?"

Well, true, but isn't that how you're supposed to transition from SS to TM - use your last 3x5 weight for the first intensity 1x5 day, or am I wrong? Multiple sources for that from the gurus here. This is effectively a deload of a sort, I believe.

Also this 320 1x5 yesterday felt way easier than the final SS workouts. I think I was good for at least 340 1x5 (that would probably be a grind though). I also did 290 5x5 for the volume day, and it felt sooo much lighter than my 290 3x5 workout 6 weeks ago.

We'll see how it goes, if I keep adding 5lbs/week I should hit 375 1x5 by Christmas. Should be feasible.

[Tiburon]

Well, true, but isn't that how you're supposed to transition from SS to TM - use your last 3x5 weight for the first intensity 1x5 day, or am I wrong? Multiple sources for that from the gurus here. This is effectively a deload of a sort, I believe. .

aha, gotcha. good luck, keep at it!

[Nubygaines]

ge eat progress and inspiring as I'm almost identical to you.5'8 and up to 220 before dropping to 198 for starting strength. love this program. I like your programming your doing now. have you ever tried the lying triceps extension?

[Raccoon Baboon]

ge eat progress and inspiring as I'm almost identical to you.5'8 and up to 220 before dropping to 198 for starting strength. love this program. I like your programming your doing now. have you ever tried the lying triceps extension?

Thanks!

In my experience lying triceps extensions (that's the same as skullcrushers, right?) put unnecessary stress on my shoulders and elbows, especially if I go for the full range of motion (which for me means lowering the bar behind my head). With cable pushdowns you can get the same or better ROM while keeping your shoulders in a stable position and having more control over the weight. But your mileage may vary.

In any case, for me this is just an afterthought after doing all the pressing, dumbbell benching and close grip benching. I guess you could use any other triceps isolation exercise and get the same result.