Legs, Hitting 400 & A Thank You

T

Typhon

2
I thought I'd make a post here rather than just in my log to show off my sexy legs :D

It's not common knowledge so I'll start off by telling everyone that the start of my 'Raising The Bar' journal coincided with me hiring Tony McClellan (http://training.fitness.com/members/tonymcclellan.html) as my trainer.

I asked Tony to help me with my training after about a year of training myself. I felt I'd done a decent job but I was forming obvious imbalances (particularly my chicken legs) and had developed tendonitis in both shoulders which completely prevented me from benching anything.

About 5 months have passed since I hired Tony and after working with the training plans he created for me to address these issues I've now eliminated all shoulder pain (I can even bench), corrected the imbalances and improved my performance in all lifts. I've also gained about 10 lbs and stayed at the same bf%

In summary, Tony had these objectives
1) Strengthen shoulders and cure tendonitis
2) Balance out my body
3) Get me to deadlift 400lbs

All objectives have been acheived now, about a month ahead of schedule :D

Sorry about the long winded post, I'll get on with the pics. The first one I took back in August to show my starting point to Tony
August 2007

At this point I was squating about 176lbs and Deadlifting about 220lbs (see my log)

These I took first thing on Tuesday so no pump, I have very long legs so never thought I'd see any muscle in them
Front:

Side

I can now squat about 300lbs for 18 reps (6x3) and deadlift 401.5lbs (another target Tony set my plans out to acheive) and my thighs are catching up with the size my waist was 18 months ago :D

So thanks Tony, the plans you laid out were top class and included things I never would have thought of on my own. Just curing the tendonitis is a gift in itself :beerchug:

EDIT: The only downside is I now have stretchmarks on my bum and thighs and I keep ripping my trousers
 
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CCR said:
Anyway, I started the deads with 2x130kg (286lbs) but I didn't think my form was quite right so quickly dropped down to 120kg for the last 3 reps.
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CCR said:
I started the front squats and step ups (I always keep the bar the same so I can go straight from one to the next) with the bar at 90kg, that's 30kg up from my starting weight 7 days ago. The reps went

5x90kg
8x80
12x60
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These are a couple of my earlier posts to show where I've come from

I'm still miles away from where I'd like to be but now I'm all balanced out and injury free (please ignore the hamstring pull) I'm in a perfect position to set off on that journey. I think if I'd carried on doing things the way I was I'd have ended up in A&E by now
 
dang, I had no idea Tony was your trainer! He did an awsome job! I can't believe the deadlift and squat progress you had.. that's amazing. You had just started deadlifting and squatting when you hired Tony? Had you been training for long before you hired him?

Legs are looking solid man! Big difference from the first pic.. even though you can't really see your quads, you can tell. Nice bum too by the way ;) drop the boxers next time! :D

Keep up the good work!
 
Karky said:
dang, I had no idea Tony was your trainer! He did an awsome job! I can't believe the deadlift and squat progress you had.. that's amazing. You had just started deadlifting and squatting when you hired Tony? Had you been training for long before you hired him?

Legs are looking solid man! Big difference from the first pic.. even though you can't really see your quads, you can tell. Nice bum too by the way ;) drop the boxers next time! :D
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LMAO, I'd been training for about 12 months when I hired Tony, I used to use the leg press instead of squating but I'd been deadlifting (badly) for about 3 months before hiring him

Once I sort my diet out even more I'm sure my quads will show a lot more

P.S. I actually think it's a bad picture of my bum, maybe I'll take a better one just for you ;)
 
yeah, I'm working on my diet too. I've always had the training thing down pretty good, it's in the diet department I need more help. Just started tracking my macros, so I can figure out how much more protein I need.
 
Karky said:
yeah, I'm working on my diet too. I've always had the training thing down pretty good, it's in the diet department I need more help. Just started tracking my macros, so I can figure out how much more protein I need.
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I think I'm gonna give carb cycling a go, I've got a bit more homework to do before I go head first into it though

~LV~ said:
Your in good hands with Tony laying out your approach.

GREAT job CCR!
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Cheers, and yeah, Tony's done a great job with planning my training; although there were no curls in there for the first 4 months!!! Still, he'll learn :D
 
Way to go man, those are some powerful legs you got there now. I'm pretty tall, 6'4'', and have long legs, and I didn't think I could put much mass on, but mine are growing by the week...
 
Thanks Rich. You mentioned that I had to go back and double check, I cant believe its been almost a complete 5 months.

I must say the toughest part about it was your 35 minute gym time. Creating the routines was definitely a challenge at first. But I only guided you, you lifted the hell out of some weight!
 
Well done CCR. Really impressive!!

If you don't mind, can you briefly describe your current diet? what sort of calorie intake are you taking in? what is you maintenance level?

Cheers mate.
 
only 35 mins at the gym? wow, that proves you really don't have to spend hours upon hours in the gym to get results!
 
JTM said:
Well done CCR. Really impressive!!

If you don't mind, can you briefly describe your current diet? what sort of calorie intake are you taking in? what is you maintenance level?

Cheers mate.
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Hmmm, my diet is still a bit rubbish, I've worked my way up to an intake of about 4,000 Kcals a day. I eat at least 2 Chicken breasts a day and a load of nuts and sometimes seeds. I find that after I've eaten all that then there isn't much space for junk

Karky said:
only 35 mins at the gym? wow, that proves you really don't have to spend hours upon hours in the gym to get results!
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Yeah, I have a very hectic life which limits my time in the gym to my lunch hour at work. After getting there, changing and showering I only have 35 minutes left which is why I don't do much Iso work
 
mreik said:
Very big congrats bro! The bar looks seksi with all that weight on there huh?
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I'll have 4 bars each side for squats before long, that'll look really seksi

and they've put a mirror in front of the squat rack so I can check out the seksiness as I lift :D
 
CCR said:
I'll have 4 bars each side for squats before long, that'll look really seksi

and they've put a mirror in front of the squat rack so I can check out the seksiness as I lift :D
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Theres one guy at our gym that puts only 15kg plates on and puts more on. They are the same size in diameter as the 20's (45lbs) but are thinner. You should do that if you get the chance!
 
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