Here are the numbers.
28 training sessions so far.
Total volume moved = 380,350lbs. It's actually higher since I screwed up my recording on some exercises. I would put a 20lb load for doing single leg work, which should have been 40lb since I had to do 2 sets, one for each leg. I would put it closer to 400,000.
Number of reps = 7,161
23hrs of training. Also actually higher since I didn’t always start the App when I started my warm ups. I would say on average I was training about 50min each time. My longest session lasted 1hr 15min and my shortest was 38min.
One of the hardest days looked like this:
7x20 reps of chest supported reverse fly
7x12 low decline DB fly paired with
7x10 low decline DB bench press
7x12 straight arm pull down paired with
7x10 tall kneeling lat pull down
6x15ea arm seesaw overhead DB press
9min of DB curls 20x, rope tricep press down 20x, DB lateral raise 20x as many times as possible in the 9min.
It was brutal. It was a total of 868 reps.I worked up to doing that much volume from the very beginning of the program starting at 2-4 sets of higher reps with less weight.
What did I notice?
Not much. I have pictures that show some more definition on my upper back and arms but for the most part, it was really hard and didn’t yield what I would have expected based on all the “get jacked in 30 days” ads. Also, everyone on social media seems to be huge which makes me wonder, “ Did I do something wrong?”
The answer is no. It just takes time. If I were to continue this program with some tweaks and adding just a little more weight than before, over the course of another 6 weeks I bet I would see some very notable differences from day 1.
My big takeaway from this is that building muscle is very hard. That’s why most people don’t look like fitness models. Also, building muscle in a caloric deficit is almost impossible. When people come in asking to get bigger and stronger and also become leaner, we have to be very clear because the likelihood of both happening at the same time is slim. To be fair, my goal wasn’t to actually get bigger. I wanted to be leaner and not lose muscle mass. I think I have actually done a pretty good job of preserving muscle while losing weight. I was successful in my goal, but what I had in my head of what I should look like didn’t really match up. I am happy I worked hard. I am happy that I pushed myself and did something that I normally wouldn’t. Most importantly, I am able to re-frame my model so that I can streamline the process again and create a smarter, more efficient path to my goal.
