TeenBodybuilding.com - Derek Charlebois

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Did you know?
Muscle is comprised of 70% water.

Here is my training journal and workout program as I try to gain more mass over the summer!

Week 2: 7-2-01

Monday - Legs

Squats 210 X 6, 220 X 6, 230 X 6 (New PR!)

Stiff Leg Deadlift (Stood on platform) 160 X 6, 160 X 6, 160 X 6 Standing on the platform added a nice stretch to my hams. This movement felt a lot better this time. I use my mom's old "Buns of Steel" platform for this exercise. Before, when I did this flat on the ground, I felt this exercise more in my back than hamstrings. I highly recommend investing in a platform.

Leg Extension 180 X 6, 180 X 6 Held at point of contraction

Leg Curl 110 X 6, 120 X 4 *Be careful on the negative of this exercise! Lowering the weight too fast can lead to injury. During my last rep, I let gravity return the weight for me. Big mistake! I almost hyper extended (I believe that is what it is called) my knee. Luckily I didn't. Always control the negative on every exercise.

Standing Calf Raise310 X 12, 310 X 12, 310 X 10

Tuesday - Arms & Abs

Barbell Curl 100 X 6, 100 X 4

Alt. Dumbbell Curls 40 X 4, 40 X 5

Hammer Curls 40 X 4, 40 X 4

Close Grip Bench 160 X 6, 170 X 4 Really squeezed triceps at the top of the movement

Lying Triceps Press 70 X 6, 80 X 4 Decided I needed to increase the weight a tad. The movement still felt great.

Triceps Rope Pressdown 70 X 6, 80 X 6 I love this exercise!

Forearm rope Twist 20 lbs, 20 lbs
All in all, a very productive workout.

Did abs at 5:00 PM.

Leg Lifts - 12, 12

Cable Crunches 60 X 8, 60 X 8 Weighted

Inclined Crunches +25lbs X 10, +25lbs X 8

Wednesday - Shoulders/Traps

Military Press 140 X 4, 130 X 4 I jumped the gun a little bit, I should have started with 130 instead of 140. It is important not to over estimate what you can lift. I knew I should have started with 130 pounds instead of 140, but I went with 140 pounds anyways. This lead to poor reps. Know your limits!

Dumbbell Press 40 X 6, 40 X 6 I decided 40 lbs would give me a better stretch than 50 lbs, and I was right. This exercise felt great. I get a better workout on this exercise if really emphasize the negative and stretch my shoulders, more so than when using a heavier weight.

Dumbbell Side Lateral 20 X 8, 20 X 8

Sitted Rear Lateral10 X 8 Felt a lot better today. To me, this is a hard exercise. It is important to keep good form during this exercise in order to emphasize your rear delts.

Upright Rows 100 X 6, 100 X 6

Barbell Shrugs 250 X 6, 270 X 6, 270 X 6

Neck Extension10 X 10

Neck Side Flexion10 X 8

Thursday - Back

Deadlift300 X 5, 300 X 4 I bent my bar! I needed to buy a new bar anyways. The one I have been using is a cheap one a friend of mine gave me.

Bent Over Row (On Platform) 160 X 6, 160 X 6 Again, the platform added a great stretch.

Nice Stretch V-Bar Pulldowns 160 X 6, 160 X 6 Again, nice stretch

Wide Grip Pull Ups 5,5

Weighted Hyper extensions 25 X 6, 25 X 6

Oblique Rope Twist 50 X 8, 50 X 8

Friday - Chest

Flat Bench Press 190 X 5, 190 X 4

Incline Dumbbell Press 50 X 6, 50 X 6 I went really deep on the negative. This made the exercise very tough as well as effective

Decline Dumbbell Press 70 X 6, 70 X 6 My favorite exercise. My chest is my weakest body part. I am not genetically gifted in this area. Decline dumbbell press has really helped me develop my chest. My chest isn't as big as I would like it to be, but whose is? I focused on really squeezing my chest.

Dips 9, 11 Big increase from last week.

Ab Wheel

I had problems with the program I use to keep track of my diet with, so I did not keep an exact record. I was aiming for:
4000 calories
300 grams of protein
500 grams of carbs
111 grams of fat
I was pretty close to this everyday.

I also changed my post workout meal schedule:
10 minutes before end of workout
1 scoop HSC Creatine in water

After workout
1 scoop HSC Creatine in 4 oz. Grape Juice
1 scoop VP2 in water
1 TBSP honey

30 minutes later
2 corn tortillas with half a chicken breast

After researching, I discovered that by not eating a solid food meal, within an hour after training will lead to the amino acids used to build muscle will be burned for energy (1). This should be a small protein/carb meal.

30 minutes later:
1 scoop VP2 in water
8 oz. Grape Juice
1 TBSP Honey

VP2 is absorbed by your body in 20 minutes. I thought to myself, "If VP2 is absorbed so quickly, why would I take it before bed. I will be unable to intake protein for the next 8 hours, so wouldn't it make sense to intake a protein source that is absorbed more slowly." Therefore, I now take my serving of Ny-Tro Pro 40 in 12 oz. of milk before bed.

*The main things I learned this week were:*
Not to overshoot. Sometimes you may want to use a heavier weight just because it's heavier and everyone wants to lift heavier. If you overshoot and choose a weight that is too heavy for you at that time, it will hinder you physically and mentally. Always control the negative of an exercise. Not doing so could lead to injury.

After 2 weeks:
My gains from these two weeks were incredible! Here is what I gained: 10 lbs- (I'd say only a little of this is fat. This is my first time taking creatine and I'm not sure about water weight.)
1/2": to my Biceps
1" to my Chest
1/2" to my thighs
1/8" to my neck

The fat I did gain, I believe is from when I strayed from my diet. This happened when I would go out with friends, go to graduation parties, and when I went to a family reunion.

I am very pleased with my gains. I was not expected to see results this quick. We'll see what happens over the next 10 weeks.

Week 3 7-9-01
Monday - Legs

Squats 240 X 4, 240 X 4, 240 X 4

Leg Extension 180 X 6, 190 X 6 Time for 200!

Stiff Leg Deadlift 160 X 6, 160 X 6

Leg Curl 120 X 6, 120 X 4

Standing Calf Raises 310 X 12, 310 X 12
My workout took a bit longer than planned, so I dropped 1 set from stiff leg deadlifts and calf raises.

*Diet Change*
I decided to boost my calorie intake up to 4200 calories a day. I have been super hungry lately. Today's percentages were pretty close to how I want them. Most of the fat in my diet comes from Natural peanut butter (100% peanuts), walnuts, and flank steak. Walnuts contain both omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, which makes them a tasty supply of good fat.
Diet: Calories: 4247 Protein: 306 g 29% Carbs: 462 g 42% Fat: 131 g 28%

Tuesday - Arms

Straight Bar Curl 115 X 6 (I strained my back here. I thought I was doing 100 lbs., but the new bar I bought is 15 lbs. heavier than my old one. I didn't find this out until the next day when I weighed my bars. I couldn't do another set of barbell curls. :( I was able to complete my workout though :)

Alt. Dumbbell Curls 40 X 6, 40 X 6

Hammer Curls 40 X 6, 40 X 4

Close Grip Bench 165 X 6, 165 X 6

Lying triceps press 70 X 6, 70 X 6

Triceps Rope Pressdown 70 X 6, 70 X 6

Wrist Curls 165 X 8, 165 X 6

I decided not to do abs today because I didn't want to strain my back more.
Diet: Calories: 4200 Protein: 300 g Carbs: 460 g Fat: 128 g

I learned a very good, but yet painful lesson today. You must know your equipment! This means how much your bars weigh, dumbbells weigh, etc. I also learned the importance of keeping a log of my workouts. Even though this week was a little messed, the log book was very vital. I looked at my log book and saw I did 100 lbs. For 4 reps on the barbell curl last week. This meant that I still needed some work before adding weight. If I did not keep the log book, I would be like, "I did 100 lbs. last week for 4..no..um..5... or was it 6.. Yeah it was 6 reps , so I can do 110 lbs. this week.", and end up injury yourself. I feel my injury was partly due to my mind and not my body. I did 100 lbs. for 4 reps last week so I thought I should be able to do more than 4 this week. Even though I could barely do 4 reps with the 115 lbs. (I thought it was 100 lbs.), I pushed myself to getting more reps, which I did using bad form, which lead to an injury. So when it comes down to it do not sacrifice your form and body to please your mind. Lift what you can lift, not want you want to lift. I know sometimes that may be hard.

Wednesday - Shoulders & Traps
When I woke up, my back hurt! I wasn't sure if I was going to workout today or not. I popped an Advil and slapped on some Icy Hot and decided to lift.

Military Press 135 X 4, 135 X 5

Dumbbell Press 40 X 6, 40 X 6

Dumbbell Side Lateral 20 X 8, 20 X 8

Sitted Rear Lateral 10 X 8

Upright Rows 115 X 6, 115 X 6

Barbell Shrugs 265 X 4, 265 X 4

Neck Extension 10 X 10

Neck Side Flexion 10 X 10
This was an alright workout. I just was not feeling it.
Diet: Calories: 4203 Protein: 296 g Carbs: 436 g Fat: 142 g

Thursday - Back
Man was I tired today. Man back was feeling better, but not totally. I put some more Icy Hot on and decided to go lift.

Deadlifts 265 X 6, 285 X 4 My back was feeling better, so I didn't want to push it.

Bent Over Row 165 X 6, 165 X 6

Seated V-Bar Row 170 X 6, 170 X 6

Wide Grip Pull ups 6, 4 To my surprise, my back did not bother me at all during my workout!
Diet: Calories: 4200 Protein: 309 g Carbs: 450 g Fat: 126 g

7-26-01 Monday - Legs

Squats 240 X 6, 240 X 4, 260 X 6* *On the last rep, I couldn't push back up at first. I rested for a second in the squatted position, then pushed up and completed the rep. That was kind of scary.

Stiff Leg Deadlift 170 X 6, 170 X 6

Leg Extension 200 X 6, 200 X 6

Leg Curl 120 X 6, 120 X 4

Standing Calf Raise 240 X 12, 240 X 12
I would that by this point, I was not putting enough effort into my calves as I should be. I am switching up my routine starting next week.
Diet: Last week, I went for 4200 calories a day. With this amount, I was gaining too much fat, so I went back to 4,000 calories a day. Calories: 4,000 Protein: 300 g 30% Carbs: 406 g 40% Fat: 131 g 30%

I am also trying something new. I get up at 8:00 AM and have a serving of VP2 in 8 oz. milk and take 1 capsule of ATP Mass, then go back to bed until 9:00 AM. Then I wake up and eat
2 scrambled eggs
All of the next items are mixed in a blender:
16 oz. milk
1 banana
2 TBSP peanut butter
1/2 cup oatmeal

Tuesday - Arms

Barball Curls 100 X 6, 100 X 4

Alt. Dumbbell Curls 40 X 6, 40 X 5.25

Hammer Curls 40 X 5, 40 X 6* *On the last set, I held on to the dumbbells very tightly. This seemed to make them easier to lift. I hurt my wrist sometime during the week (Not from weight lifting), so close grip bench and triceps press were a no go.

Triceps Rope Pressdown 70 X 6, 80 X 6, 80 X 6

Triceps Pushdown 50 X 10, 60 X 8, 70 X 6
Diet: Calories: 3,600 Protein: 282 Carbs: 358 Fat: 116

Wednesday - Shoulders, Traps
My wrist was still hurting, so I could not do military press.

Dumbbell Press 50 X 6, 50 X 4, 50 X 5

Dumbbell Side Lateral 30 X 8, 30 X 6, 30 X 6

Rear Lateral Raise 10 X 8, 10 X 8, 10 X 8 I got this movement down now.
Diet: Calories: 4811 Protein: 322 Carbs: 575 Fat: 136 I ate 8 slices of Domino's pizza today.

Thursday - Back
Everything was working today!

Deadlifts 315 X 2.5, 305 X 1, 285 X 1 I decided to try on go heavy on dead lifts today. My first 2 attempts on 315 failed. Then after I kicked the bar, I got it.

Bent Over Row 170 X 6, 170 X 5, 170 X 6

V-Bar Pull down 180 X 6, 190 X 6, 200 X 4
Diet Calories: 4068 Protein: 281 Carbs: 425 Fat: 138

Friday - Chest

Flat Bench Press 205 X 6, 205 X 4 Again no spotter

Incline Dumbbell Press 60 X 6, 70 X 4

Declined Dumbbell Press 80 X 6, 80 X 4

Dips 14, 11
Diet Calories: 4068 Protein: 293 Carbs: 426 Fat: 132

Working With Injuries:
When an injury occurs, you have to decide if it is serious enough to stop working. When injured, your best and safest bet is to rest. But if it is only a minor injury and you fell you can still workout, you have to know how to work around it. For example, when my wrist was hurting, I knew I should not to my usually sets of close grip bench or lying tricep press because they would put too much pressure on my wrist. So I decided just to do tricep pressdowns. These movements did not bother my wrist at all and I was able to get a good workout. Never workout if you are in pain. If a movement is causing pain, STOP DOING IT!

Experimenting With Your Diet:
Trying to find a balanced diet that works for you is important. Just because somebody else is getting good results with a certain diet or ratio of protein to carbs to fat does not mean it will work for you. As I said earlier, when I raised my calorie intake to 4,200 calories a day, I was gaining fat quickly. I decided that 40 percent carbs, 30 percent protein, and 30 percent fat works well for me. So find what works for you.

My Gains For The First Month:
I am very pleased with my gains. My most impressive gains are:
Weight: 12 lbs. (A little fat)
Arms: 5/8"
Chest: 1 1/2"- I am very happy about this because my chest is my problem area.

Switching Up The Routine Next Week:
I will be switching up the routine starting Monday. It will be posted in my next article.

If you have any questions or comments, e-mail me at dspikehead@hotmail.com Derek Charlebois

1. http://www.ast-ss.com/research/cribb/insulin_and_muscle_growth.htm

dspikehead@hotmail.com