well..now I have signed up

[Don Coles]

hi.

I'm Don.

I have signed up to this forum because I'm a Fan of Dorion and was inspired by him when I started lifting in the early 90s..

I'm now 32 yo and still into wieghts.

I trained for a few years very hard up untill about 21( did a couple corses of juice too) and then life hit me hard..I stopped training! lost all my size and went from a 17 1/2 arm down to 14" !!! (even became homless after losing my job for awhile! ,sleeping in the cold with no food) .eventualy I managed to get my life back together and always thought of myself as a bodybuilder even though I had not trained for many years! LOL

Lukily I met the girl of my dreams about 2001 (a beautiful pacific island girl) and we got married soon after and have 3 wonderful kids.

Now, I still had a lot left downstairs in the basement ..incredible amounts of enthusiasm and many other feelings about my goals to be a bodybuilder.. So I started lifting again a couple years ago! (at 30).

So far my measurments are :

Chest : 49"
Arms : 18 1/4
Forearms : 14 1/2"
Waist : 47". (yes I let myself go but I eat !!)
Thie. : 28"
Calves. : 18 1/4


My goals are : (to do it natty untill these mesurments)

to try hit 20" arms! ( just another 1 1/2 inches please! LOL)
20" calves
Build a massive back!
My favorite body part forearms!!! 16 + "
Reduce my waist slowly over time..(so I can continue to gain but I'm not fused!! ).

(I only mesure "cold " I have mesured my arms after bycep curls "pumped " currently at just over 19")

If I can hit these goals in a year ( a little longer possibly) then I feel I would have achieved..I realize many things now that I couldn't grasp as a younger guy, things like getting a mental conection with the muscle, not overtraining, eating a lot, trying to avoid injurys so I can continue to train, squating!!.

I hope to be a full size BB one day ( 21"+ arms..& Massive back)..The dream to be like dorion is still there and I'm willing to go for it whilst I still can..

[Don Coles]

so I'm natural, don't even take suppliments as I just eat heaps of tuna and drink eggs with milk and white chocalate all day! LOL


My training routine is a variation of Dorions ..

I do one body part per day.

So one day will be:
Shoulders
Byceps
Then triceps
Then legs
Then back
Then chest


I just do one or two exercises and about 8 sets in total including a warmup.. I don't rip myself to pieces by doing forced reps or wieght stripping.. I try to become the muscle I'm working in my mind and also watch myself to check my form..

I eat a little before and a lot after!

To speed recovery I take hot baths and cold showers.. (hot and cold )

I don't do any cardio except when I'm taking a week off every 8 or so weeks..

[Don Coles]

here's somthing I find intresting..

My muscles feel great after the workout! But muscle pain sets in always about 38hours (1 1/2 days) later! Then it stays for 2-3 days.. And then wammo! I give it one more day and hit that part again.

I tryto space the exercises away so it does not see me train a body part directly and then indirectly a day or so latter ( my won't let me bacause of sorness! )

The pain feels great and all I want to do is eat! Eat eat eat!!! I know the more I eat the bigger I get so space the small meals about 3-4 hours apart..
I can't afford to get suppliments like wieght gain at the moment because I spend my money on my kids and bills (like everybody else.) so I have been as creative as possible to get my protien!

Drinking eggs (whole) and eating cans of tuna.. I realy wish I could also max out on suppliments but $150 per month is just to much .

I forgot to say that I'm 5 7" and 115kg and from Australia.

If anybody can see anything in my routine or anything let me know!!

Anyway, thats me and it's a honnor to post on this forum!

Don.

[Lifter]

Hi Don, welcome to the forum. I am impressed you were able to turn your life around, you have my full admiration. As a former youth worker, I saw how easy it was for some to simply give up when the going got tough. Obviously the drive to better yourself won out, which will assist your efforts to achieve your goals. I for one look forward to being along for the journey as you get closer and closer to your goals. All the best!

(Btw, where are you from exactly? I reside in Adelaide)

[Don Coles]

I'm brissy! Hey good to know another Aussie is in the forum. I have read a couple of your posts and can see you are also a genuine BB. Hopfuly I will achieve my desired results and will try share some insight as to what I did to help acomplish my goals..

I'm very open about what I have done , and even some of the hardships and failings on my part. I have made some great mistakes in life and with regard to my bodybuilding aspirations
I know however it's not over till it's over (even if your in your 40s) and have decided I'm not going to get old wondering if I could have reached the size (or close to it !) of some of the realy big guys.

Dorion for me was a not just a man.. He was a sombody that I could realate with from the magazines and gave me great enchouragment to train!

All my friends ( ecto's) said flex wheeler will smoke him next year.. I always stood by my thinking that dorion was better as a builder ( possibly not as genecticaly gifted ) and that he's the guy I will continue to cheer for. I liked his style! Also everybody was saying in the mag's how solid he was, everybody was saying that to me aswell !!! ( I'm a meso) at 18yo I was benching 3 20kg plates a side at the gym with the thick 15kg bar (total : 135kg).. Bench press was my exercise!

I became very unpropotioned with a massive chest and small 17" arms..LOL

This time I have decided to do it diffrent but. I'm not bench pressing at all, I don't want the thick chest until I get those 20" arms , I'm focusing on complete development so I'm squating!

I'm using my enthusiasm and remembering past failings to slap my mind around and get my mind in the game.

One thing I know as a older guy.. Money comes and goes, sucsess comes and goes..but those memories and life experience stays!! It comes late at night and rips your heart out! There's no way to hide from it..

I can be very honest about where I went wrong in my training as young guy. I did not train right, just went through the motions but was not thinking about what I was realy doing.. I overtrained. Did not eat enough and regularly enough, took the easy way out by jacking myself to soon! That why I am waiting till I hit 20 on the arm as a natty! I don't think it would be possible to grow beyond that at my 5 7" hieght.. If I can hit those mesurments the reward is that I can go the next big step! (I will also know that with mesurments as a natural that I have gone as far as possible before getting jacked and have not taken the easy rd!)

One thing I think a lot of natty get cought on dieting down before they are big! Everybody wants to look good but slimming down before you are the size you want doesn't make sence to me.. Guys bulk up and 17" arms and then diet down so they look good.. Why not just keep bulking! The extra wieght builds muscle anyway in calves.. ( a problem most light wieght bodys have trouble building..) walk around with 120kg and those calves grow just from the wieght alone.

Recently I discovered a way to incorperate calf training into my life .. I do it in the shower! Three sets of 20-30 slow every second or third day..I push myself down also so my calves are lifting not just my bodyweight!

As for arms.. Most exercise did not work for me! My arms wouldn't grow ( and my forearms are still being stuborn bastards!! Grow you bastards grow!! LOL) but after talking with a realy big guy in a open and honest conversation ( even about juice) he was able to show me where I was going wrong!! To much blody weight.. Simple realy.. If you want somthing to grow you isolate it!!

So I backed off the wieght. Did one arm dumbel curls .. I also put a slight twist in the curl .. Wamo!! They are growing!! I'm getting stronger and the action is now very smooth instead of being a little shaky..


I still do big compound excersise for large muscle groups like back ( bent over rows) and legs (squats) and also do dipps.. But curls are now slow and resonably light.. I'm now curling easily what was difficult before!

Forearms are for some reason difficult! I'm reverse curling and even using a forearm bar ..they are growing but I always wanted massive forearms and progress is slow. 14 1/2 " is not impressive to me .. I want no less than 16 + (As a natural, and much more once jacked!).. So they seem more dificult but they are growing ..I have short limbs with long bellys and low muscle insertions everywhere so I know they can be big if I'm patient enough..

As a bodybuilder I think I have fairly good genetics. I have a very large frame on a short body..low muscle insertions and long muscle bellys (or maybe short limbs and arverage length muscles? LOL).. The biggest problem for me is to eat right and not overtrain.. When I got that happening I pack it on as I have been.

So that's a bit more about my natural building ..I am honest though that I don't intend to stay natural forever! But wont pull the trigger again untill I have achieved what some have said can't be done as a natural in regards to height and size..

[Lifter]

Aha, Brisbane, nice place. I hope to visit there again one day.

Like you, Dorian was always someone special to me too... for a variety of reasons, not least we were born the same year, and are the same height. Bruce Lee was the one who started my eagerness to train, with Mike Mentzer guiding my efforts, vs the craziness that plagued the scene when I started in 1977. I can see so many similarities between myself and The Shadow.

Obviously not as genetically blessed, though few are, I have to make allowances to ensure I continue to progress year after year. I have always ensured I lift with my muscles void of momentum, hence 33 years of heavy intense training, and still going strong... injury free! I'm proud of that, as I know many who are walking wounds though far younger than I am.

One muscle a day is a unique angle. I can appreciate spreading your effort out through the week, being able to put your all into working each muscle thoroughly. The only issue I'd be weary of is overworking your arms as they already get worked on chest, delts, and back days, as well as with legs - indirectly. Providing you are progressing weekly, every 2nd at worse, all is on track. I know you have the smarts to keep that in check, so all's looking good.

It sounds like you know what you want Don and how to go about acquiring it, so I am confident you will get there in the coming months. I look forward to updates on how you are progressing towards your goals. All the best!

[Don Coles]

i also was a fan of Mentzer.. very big forearms!!

thanks for the advice about the Arms.. i just put that routine up to illustrate that i do one body part per day..

the routine that i have come up with for my next 8 weeks is :

Monday : bicep / upper forearms ( top )
Tuesday : Legs
Wed : tricep / lower forearm ( bottom )
Thur : back
Fri : calves
sat : chest and shoulders
Sunday : _ day off

i could switch a few around but tried to give some more break between chest and tri's , also tried to make a break between the big muscle groups so avoiding training legs and back the following days as i think its to taxing.. or chest and then the next day back .. so through the small muscles in between..

i have put bicep and forearm first as that's my focus.. not to fused by chest because i have a large rib cage ( barrel chest ) so need to bring up the thickness in my arms to match the width side on..

here is a photo of my diet suppliments for the next week.. lol





i will be having 6-7 small meals of high protein through out the day .. my diet is not worked out according potions or anything.. I'm just trying to ram as much fish and eggs down myself as possible! i will still be eating pasta and rice for lunch and dinner and weetabix for breakfast ( same as a normal person) .. those meals will be supplemented by this increased protein ..

normal meals extra protein


8:00 am breakfast : weetbix & 3 eggs

10:30 3 eggs

1:00 Lunch : paster / rice & tuner

3;30 3 eggs

7:00 Dinner : paster / rice/ red meat & tuner

10:30 3 eggs

so this sees me drinking a lot of eggs in white chocolate! i will try fine tune my eating plan and training plan over time..

I'm very happy if anybody spots some things i could be doing better in my routine please let me know!

[Lifter]

That setup looks much better, allowing days between overlap should ensure you can progress without a hitch.

Great range of supplements - real food! I can't understand how otherwise sensible people can be duped, over and over again, by the supplement companies. I'm guilty of wasting money when I was younger and far more naive, but the reality is... they are called "supplements", not in place of a regular food intake. Plus, anything that would remotely have "steroid like effects" would be labeled as such, and being able to purchase them over the counter would be impossible!

Sounds like you have a sound game-plan there, I can't wait to see the outcome over the coming 8-weeks.

[Don Coles]

Cool!

I am worried about overtraining the arms still so I will keep a eye on that..

Up till this point I have not had a set routine.. (instictive training? A term coined in the 90s ! LOL .. Bit like the "flushing set" fad..) so it's been a case of working what feels up to it. I have been getting everything trained once a week though.. So now I have written somthing down and that's why I'm quite happy to move bodyparts around and even put a mid week rest day in if nessesary.

Today I started this routine!
So I did one arm curls and then barbel and then lodded it up for a assult with heavy wieght.. Only managing 4 reps.. I let it down slow but used my back a bit to help get it up.. Then did a couple sets of strict reverse curls to try get that top of the forearm.. Finished it of with a forearm bar.. Also done slow and carfull to try protect the wrist.. Got a great "pop" on top flexers from that!

Tommorows legs!

Since I only recently started sqwat's I'm more concerned about just doing and developing my control than outright power so I use light wieght..and relitvly slow speed..

I'm trying the 2sec up and 4 sec down on almost all movements and have noticed being more controlled has definatly helped.. Even with little things like hand grippers!

[Don Coles]

well i been eating like crazy and having some good workouts..

i can actually feel some shirts that i have no worn for awhile feel much tighter around my arms!

also i measured my arms around 1 month ago and those are the measurements i gave .. but im bigger since then so this morning i run the tape over my arms again to see what progress i had made this month..

18 3/4 " cold now!! im rapt!! lol... and my forarms are also bigger.. infact everything is!

so only 1 1/4 " before 20s cold !!

here is a photo.. obviously im not dry.. lol been bulking up for the last couple of years..( but not as dedicated as the last couple months) so its not a very actractive sight and smooth !lol..but i am hard!..

i think after this 8 weeks i will try shape up and do some isotension peeking exercises to bring out a bit more shape and peek and a little cardio 3 times a week to bring on some more definition.. .. but for the moment all i care about as a natural is getting mass drug free!.. i can make it all look pretty with some cardio later.. (for me bulking is a totaly diffrent approach to trying to look good..)

so the measurements are a great encouragement for me to keep blasting away and eating all the protein i can get.. who knows.. maybe 20s and beyond? ( to infinity and beyond!lol)

sorry about that stupid look on my face.. lol