Kurt's journey to the stage 2010

[xveganjoshx]

HEY-HO everyone. I know it has been while and too much has happened this last month to go into detail. Things are going well, here are some of the key points:

-I graduate with me BS tomm morning (May 23rd)
-I currently weigh 157 lbs in the eve and 154/5 lbs in the morn (I weighed 125 when this school year started back in Sept).
-My caloric intake is around 3600-3700 cals per day
-Lifting has been going very well. Hands down the strongest I've ever been. I hit 225 lbs on the front squat this week.
-Hopefully this summer I can keep gaining mass and strength. I would love to hit a solid 160 lbs by summer's end. It will be tough cause I eat all day and I'm going to be working a couple of different jobs this summer. Meals will be tough to squeeze in. I'll make do. I'll update lifting soon. I start my new routine June 1st. I go to a conference all next week, so that will be my recovery week.

Thanks for the update Kurt!
Congrats on the BS! I know it's a shit ton of work!
You are getting super strong.
What's your new routine like? I'm still doing the same ole same ole, getting back into it hard now because I took a few weeks off for finals. Good luck!

[kurtjs]

Thanks for the update Kurt!
Congrats on the BS! I know it's a shit ton of work!
You are getting super strong.
What's your new routine like? I'm still doing the same ole same ole, getting back into it hard now because I took a few weeks off for finals. Good luck!

Josh, there is no doubt that school isn't a lot of work. But I really enjoy it. Lots more schooling to come. But that's a whole different story

The new routine will be a full body split. I'm going to lift three days per week (Mon, Weds, Fri). Each day I will pick one exercise for a body part, and do 2-3 working sets (quads, hams, chest, back, bis, tris, shoulders, [either abs, traps or calves depending on which day of the week]). Mon rep range will be low (2-4), Weds moderate (6-8), and Fri higher (10-12). I will do the same exercises every Mon. The same exercises every Weds. The same exercises every Fri. The key is to always progress. Strive to get at least more reps with the same weight or increase the weight (even if it's 2.5 lbs). Thus, I'm starting beloew my maxes and then hopefully matching them, and then blowing past them. We'll see how it goes. I'm giving myself at least 8 weeks with this split. I need to mix it up a bit. If I like how it feels and the results that I'm getting, I'll stick with it for the rest of the summer.

[FormicaLinoleum]

HEY-HO everyone. I know it has been while and too much has happened this last month to go into detail. Things are going well, here are some of the key points:

-I graduate with me BS tomm morning (May 23rd)
-I currently weigh 157 lbs in the eve and 154/5 lbs in the morn (I weighed 125 when this school year started back in Sept).
-My caloric intake is around 3600-3700 cals per day
-Lifting has been going very well. Hands down the strongest I've ever been. I hit 225 lbs on the front squat this week.
-Hopefully this summer I can keep gaining mass and strength. I would love to hit a solid 160 lbs by summer's end. It will be tough cause I eat all day and I'm going to be working a couple of different jobs this summer. Meals will be tough to squeeze in. I'll make do. I'll update lifting soon. I start my new routine June 1st. I go to a conference all next week, so that will be my recovery week.

Congrats on everything! A 30 lb gain? Amazing--can't wait to see updated photos!

[kurtjs]

Congrats on everything! A 30 lb gain? Amazing--can't wait to see updated photos!

By popular demand, I took some pictures yesterday. I jumped on the scale (158lbs) and then ran outside. First, here is a link to some older pictures.
viewtopic.php?t=10850







As you can see, I've gained 30 pounds. Mostly in the face!! When I look at myself, I notice the legs have gotten bigger, but so has my waist! I've been doing a lot of deads and squats. Hopefully I can maintain this size and maybe lean out a bit this summer. Stay tuned for more updates.

[FormicaLinoleum]

Definitely looking bigger all over, not just in the face! Nice job!

[beforewisdom]

I can hear his mother yelling at him not to stand outside in his underwear!

[Harley]

Kurt,
Congratulations on graduating!! That is awesome.
Also, congratulations on packing on some solid weight. You are looking awesome. Keep it up!!
It looks like I will be moving back to CT by the end of June so maybe we can lift together sometime. I need to find a good gym down there.
Keep up the good work!!!

[kurtjs]

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT:

i MAY compete in another show next spring. I found out that in the NPC they have a bantamweight class, which is 143.25 lbs and under. I think I could do very well in this class. After the last show, I learned that I look small next to bigger people (big suprise). But there was nobody at that show my size. I would really like to see how I look next to people my own weight vs. my own height. The show I'm looking at is in NY during the middle of April. The final call will be based on a couple of factors.

1. What happens with my body this summer. I'm weighing in at 160 lbs right now. I'd like to get to about 170 lbs by November and then start cutting around then or December.

2. The other factor depends on how school goes. I start my master's degree in the fall and I have a lot on my plate. I will see how much time I have to devote to this. For those of you who have not dieted down before, it takes a lot of work and that is an understatement.

I'll keep everyone posted.

Maybe I should change the name of this journal?

[kurtjs]

Today was the start of my new lifting split. I'm going to try a full-body routine for the next 8 weeks. It will be a 3-day per week program. I'm hoping that lifting only three days per week will enable me to pack on some more weight. Lifting 5-6 days per week burns a lot of cals.

Today was 3 sets of 5 reps of the following exercises:
(Following along if you'd like)

Squats
Lying ham curl
Incline smith machine press
Seated wide grip cable row
Seated military barbell press
Lying triceps extension with olympic bar
Standing olympic bar curls
Roman chair leg raises (3 sets of 25 reps)

Weights were fairly low today. My plan is to start below my 5 rm and by week eight beat my previous PR for each exercise.

Weds will be the same sort of format (1 exercise per body part) but with a higher rep range (6-8 reps)

Friday will be the highest reps (10-12)

I've never done a split like this before for more than a couple of weeks. I'm interested in seeing the progress I will make.

[kurtjs]

Day two of full body workouts

3 sets of 6-8 reps each

Deadlifts
Hack Squat
Decline DB press
T-bar row (with chest supported)
Dumbell side lateral raises
Hammer strength preacher curl
Cable triceps pressdown
BB shrugs

*Good workout. I have been going to the gym late (6:45 - 7:45). I'm used to going at this time in the morning, so it's a nice change.

[kurtjs]

Day 3 of full body workout

3 sets of 10-12 reps

Incline cable chest fly

High cable cross for rear delts

Wide grip lat pulldown

Low cable bicep curl

Smith machine reverse grip bench press

Really, Really weird leg press/hack squat machine? (it did the job)

Seated horizontal leg press calf raises

ABDuctor machine

Seated unilateral hamstring curls

This was a good workout. I went to the gym at 6:30 pm after working all day. I was on my feet a lot today so the legs felt tired. Hence, why I hit them last instead of first. The weird leg press/hack squat machine actually felt really good on my back and knees. Not pain or discomfort at all. My knees have been bothering me ever since I started using the new leg press in my gym and they got rid of the old one. The old one I believe was a cybex squat press. This was the best feeling machine ever. i loved the way this thing felt. I'm still pissed they got rid of it. Anyway, I'll keep trying this other machine. My quads felt pumped after I got off of it.