Ironhard empress first public log

ironhardempress

Member
AnabolicLab.com Supporter
Ok y'all. Its been a rough last 2 months but here I am! At least I'm not a quitter, LOL! I am embarking on a 12-week cycle of NPP, @ 25 mg e3d if I can tolerate the sides. I am also still taking birth control pills for HRT (combo pill) and use 15 mg of test cyp every 10 days for my sex drive. I have cycled twice before with Primo. The first time i had no idea what to expect and lost most of my gains. The second time I did well, had nice gains, and managed to retain all but 2 lbs for about 4-6 weeks and then my personal/business life went through some upheavals for most of October and November and I got pretty sick for about 2 weeks, then left the country for a week. Lost right back down almost to where I started (retained about 2 lbs). This time however, nothing will get in the way! I know i have to eat the food and do the work. For me eating is the biggest issue because i hate it. My stats:
54 years old
5'10"
144 lbs.
I was a runner for 20 years and then a Crossfitter, sequeing into bodybuilding. I have a terrible time gaining weight. I am tracking my cals and macros at myfitnesspal.com--my profile is public so you can go see my food diary, I am catdance62 on there. My goal is 2250 cals/day and a 40/30/30 macro split. I eat clean all the time and have for many years. My biggest problem is I like wine or vodka now and then but for now I am on the wagon so we will see if that benefits me. (I'm sure it will).
My goal at the end of this cycle is to gain 8 lbs. I know I will probably lose around 2 lbs or so after so that will put me at 150. If i can maintain that, I will be happy and then have another go-round a couple months later after doing bloodwork. My goal is to compete in the Southern Muscle NPC competition on Oct. 28, 2017, over 45 figure division. That will be my 55th birthday!
I will start logging my workouts here today. It is as follows:
Day One: Push (chest, triceps)
Day Two: Legs, abs
Day three: Pull (shoulders, back, biceps)
Day four: Glutes (this is my trouble area)
As you can see one shoulder is quite a lot higher than the other (thanks Dad!), but sometimes i can stand to compensate for that to create an illusion of evenness. I am trap and shoulder dominant. I workout a lot on my own so I use the Smith machine and Hammer Strength machines a fair amount just for safety. I do use free weights some and some cable work (not much). Well, anyways, Here I go!
 

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I'm so glad you posted here! I can't wait to see your progress!

Glutes are a pain in the ass aren't they? I hope all the women with good genetics appreciate that gift they were given! I have become a Bret contreras groupie myself. Lol. Glad you're back!!

PS my next cycle will be NPP too but you'll be about a month ahead of me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Preface:because i use some machines I will refer to Hammer Strength as HS and Smith Machine as SM, just for brevity.

12/12/2016--Butt Day
cable kickbacks 4 x 10 ea. leg
SM Hip Thrusts 4 x 12 #155
SM vertical press 4 x 12 #185
walking lunges 3 x 10 (ea leg) #50
adductor machine 4 x 12 #110

Food: ~2042 cals. Ugh. I feel like a beached whale. Hopefully this will get better. check out specifics here: Free Calorie Counter, Diet & Exercise Journal | MyFitnessPal.com

Not doing any cardio because i am such a hard gainer, but I am sorely tempted to walk on the treadmill for about 20 today just because i still feel so full of food. I realize this is self-defeating though.....I like being in the gym every day.
 
Preface:because i use some machines I will refer to Hammer Strength as HS and Smith Machine as SM, just for brevity.

12/12/2016--Butt Day
cable kickbacks 4 x 10 ea. leg
SM Hip Thrusts 4 x 12 #155
SM vertical press 4 x 12 #185
walking lunges 3 x 10 (ea leg) #50
adductor machine 4 x 12 #110

Food: ~2042 cals. Ugh. I feel like a beached whale. Hopefully this will get better. check out specifics here: Free Calorie Counter, Diet & Exercise Journal | MyFitnessPal.com

Not doing any cardio because i am such a hard gainer, but I am sorely tempted to walk on the treadmill for about 20 today just because i still feel so full of food. I realize this is self-defeating though.....I like being in the gym every day.

Oooo I hate that full feeling. I know exactly where you're coming from! I'd follow you but I'm in MM+.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
what is MM+ ?

My macros + it's just another app. Since I carb cycle I wanted a way to change my macros frequently and this app seemed easier to do that with. Plus, last time I looked at mfp they wanted to charge a month subscription to do this. MM+ is like $1.99 one time purchase and I can change at will.

Christ I sound like a commercial. Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
thats cool. Idk anything about carb cycling, but i would like to learn. right now I am just concentrating on gaining the weight i lost back without gaining toooo much fat. I know it will happen, just trying to keep fat at minimum
 
Good luck with your cycle. You have a solid base to start with.

Why do you use the smith machine if you don't mind me asking? Interested to see what the rest of your programming looks like.
 
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Good luck with your cycle. You have a solid base to start with.

Why do you use the smith machine if you don't mind me asking? Interested to see what the rest of your programming looks like.

I use it for squats because I feel safer if I am working out solo. if I have a spotter I use regular squat rack. I also use it for close grip bench press and overhead press. then as you can see for hip thrusts and vertical press
 
12/13/16
Today was my off day. I was going to go do cardio, but I realize while I am trying to gain that is self-defeating, so I didn't go in. I did pretty good with my food. Unfortunately I have to rely on protein powders and mass gainers somewhat to get my calories in, but it's all I can manage now. I didn't log one thing--I had a piece from a pretty good carrot cake I made out of Quest protein--it is really good! I got the recipe from the little brochure on top of the canister. So, with that i hit my calories. I fell behind on my carbs, but oh well. At least i got my protein in. You can check it out here if you are interested. Free Calorie Counter, Diet & Exercise Journal | MyFitnessPal.com
 
I use it for squats because I feel safer if I am working out solo. if I have a spotter I use regular squat rack. I also use it for close grip bench press and overhead press. then as you can see for hip thrusts and vertical press

Ok.I understand for safety reasons. If you can find spotter for close grips definitely do them with a regular bar. Same for OHP, you can do those off of a shoulder or a little higher setting of the pins on the outside of a power rack.

You use a lot more stabilizer muscles as well as working the main muscles harder using a regular bar as opposed to a smith.
 
12/14/2016
Today was Push day: chest, shoulders, triceps. DH was working out too so I ended up doing a few sets of somethings he wanted to do for fun in addition to my usual. BTW, there are 3 Hammer Strength (HS) machines i use for chest designated #1, #2, #3. They work mid, lower, and upper chest respectively. I dont always use them in order depending on if anyone else is on them. Remember, S.M. is Smith Machine. Here's the log:
H.S #2 4 x 10 #35 each side
H.S. #3 4 x 10 #30 each side
H.S. #1 3 x 10 #45 each side
S.M. OH Press 4 x 10 #95.
DB lateral and front raises 4 x 10 each direction #15 lbs
S.M. Shrugs 4 x 10 135
Skull crushers 2 x 10 then rope push downs 3 x 10 because my elbow was feeling weird
H.S. seated dips 4 x 10 #55 each side

Ended up doing 2 x 10 #95 S.M. upright rows and 2 x 10 cable flies just 'cause D.H did some and i wanted a little something different in the mix.
I tried to go up to 115 on the next to last set of S.M. OH Press, but something weird happened to my triceps tendons which in turn set off my golfers elbow. :(
I'll have to voodoo floss and roll that out today.
Food was good.We had our company Christmas dinner at a steakhouse/bbq place but I still hit everything pretty close. I didn't log the protein carrot cake I made because i didnt' feel like entering the recipe etc. It's a one time deal, I hardly make stuff like that even tho it isn't "bad" for us. It's a flourless sweet treat for once in a while.Free Calorie Counter, Diet & Exercise Journal | MyFitnessPal.com
 
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12/15/2016
Leg Day
S.M. Squats 4 x 10 #155
Leg Press 4 x 10 #270
Leg extension 4 x 10 #120
Leg (hamstring) curls 4 x 10 #75
H.S. Hack Squats 4 x 10 #180
My food was good, i overshot my protein and fat by a wee bit which caused me to overshoot my cals. It was the last of the Quest protein carrot cake..what can I say? LOL!! At least I am getting my cals in. This weekend we are going to Dallas for a family thing (and again next weekend!) so my eating might be a bit random. Even when i eat out i almost never eat "bad". Lots of awesome food choices in Big D!
 
12/15/2016
Leg Day
S.M. Squats 4 x 10 #155
Leg Press 4 x 10 #270
Leg extension 4 x 10 #120
Leg (hamstring) curls 4 x 10 #75
H.S. Hack Squats 4 x 10 #180
My food was good, i overshot my protein and fat by a wee bit which caused me to overshoot my cals. It was the last of the Quest protein carrot cake..what can I say? LOL!! At least I am getting my cals in. This weekend we are going to Dallas for a family thing (and again next weekend!) so my eating might be a bit random. Even when i eat out i almost never eat "bad". Lots of awesome food choices in Big D!
Holidays are tough, aren't they? Nice work!
 
This weekend kind of got me out of synch because we traveled to DAllas to do a family thing. My food was pretty good tho, even at the party I didn't eat a ton of crap (just a little crap! LOL). I didn't drink at all so that helped a lot. Friday I didn't do my Pull workout but Saturday I hit and LA Fitness in Dallas (love those places!) and did it. Here is my log. the weights are all different than those at my home gym because of different brands of machines:
12/17/2016
Lat Pulldowns 3 x 10 85, 1 x 10 70
T Bar Row (laying down type "machine") 4 x 10 #45
Seated Row 4 x 10 #90
1-arm rows 4 x 10 #60
Face Pulls 4 x 10 #42.5
EZ BB Curls 3 x 10 #40 (these were fixed weight bars)
DB Curls 3 x 10 #20
Machine preacher curls 3 x 10 #50

My golfers elbow was bugging me some on the curls so had to take it easy. I stretched and used the voodoo floss and my theraband again which seemed to help.
I just started week 2 of my NPP. Seems like I am retaining some water, but it's kinda hard to tell at this point, may be too early. I am up to 149, which is a 5 lb increase in one week which is a LOT. HOwever, I've been within my target calories (even this weekend, for the most part) which is 2250, so all i can think is it is water. ALso, my NPP supply came in those little glass vials where you have to break the top off and that is a pain because i am only using a small portion of each vial at a time so I have to store the rest for subsequent usage (e3d). I think I am going to put it in an old HGH vial to draw it up from there. BTW, I am using HGH as well, but a small amount just for anti-aging so i doubt it affecting the results of my NPP. I've been on HGH for quite some time now.
 
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This weekend kind of got me out of synch because we traveled to DAllas to do a family thing. My food was pretty good tho, even at the party I didn't eat a ton of crap (just a little crap! LOL). I didn't drink at all so that helped a lot. Friday I didn't do my Pull workout but Saturday I hit and LA Fitness in Dallas (love those places!) and did it. Here is my log. the weights are all different than those at my home gym because of different brands of machines:
12/17/2016
Lat Pulldowns 3 x 10 85, 1 x 10 70
T Bar Row (laying down type "machine") 4 x 10 #45
Seated Row 4 x 10 #90
1-arm rows 4 x 10 #60
Face Pulls 4 x 10 #42.5
EZ BB Curls 3 x 10 #40 (these were fixed weight bars)
DB Curls 3 x 10 #20
Machine preacher curls 3 x 10 #50

My golfers elbow was bugging me some on the curls so had to take it easy. I stretched and used the voodoo floss and my theraband again which seemed to help.
I just started week 2 of my NPP. Seems like I am retaining some water, but it's kinda hard to tell at this point, may be too early. I am up to 149, which is a 5 lb increase in one week which is a LOT. HOwever, I've been within my target calories (even this weekend, for the most part) which is 2250, so all i can think is it is water. ALso, my NPP supply came in those little glass vials where you have to break the top off and that is a pain because i am only using a small portion of each vial at a time so I have to store the rest for subsequent usage (e3d). I think I am going to put it in an old HGH vial to draw it up from there. BTW, I am using HGH as well, but a small amount just for anti-aging so i doubt it affecting the results of my NPP. I've been on HGH for quite some time now.

Yes to the other vial. It will only take you about 10 to 15 minutes to break all of the amps open and transfer them to the vial. Then you will have a full vial and can just draw what you need each time. Much more convenient, not to mention safer, doing it that way.

NPP should kick in soon and help with the elbow issue.
 
12/19/2016
Butt Day!
Cable Kickbacks 4 x 10
S.M. Hip Thrusts 4 x 12 #155
S.M. Vertical press 4 x 12 #185
Walking Lunges 3 x 10 #50
Hip Adduction 4 x 10 #110

I watched a couple of ladies working on their glutes and they were doing some interesting work with bands and the smith machine that they showed me the technique. I think I will try both. Although I have a separate day for legs and one for butt, I feel like i could be doing more work on both. Maybe? Critique? THe trouble area on my butt is the sides.
I also feel like i need to be doing a little cardio. Maybe 20 mins twice a week or something. When i do walking lunges my heart gets all crazy on me (i have heart issues anyway) so I feel like i need to do something. My cardio sucks now. After years of running and doing Crossfit it makes me a bit sad. :(
 
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