New Pics... Bulking - Opinions Welcome

[dpbigpolack]

Hey everyone, I havent been on here for a while but Im officially back and Ill be on here once again and often!! Its good to be back!!!




I recently lost 15-20lbs, from 210 down to 190. The reason behind me losing weight was due to my back. I have 2 slipped discs in my lower back area. I lost the weight because I chilled out on the gym a lot over the last year or so. A couple months ago, I started working out on a regular basis again and over the last month Ive been hitting the gym hard and puttin on size. Ive gained back 11 pounds so far and I feel great. The back hasnt been bothering me much and I just went to a pain management doc and she told me that the discs are looking a lot better (earlier this year I went to my family friend/doc and got some cotizone/others shots 3 time, 2 each time and a month between each) and obviously they have help and Im really siked because the limited movement and not being able to do some of the things I love to do was getting me down a lot. My fiance has been hitting the weights just as hard as I am ad she has put on 10 pounds in a month or so as well and she is getting really strong. You guys have seen on her on her before, she is 5'5"/120lbs (she went from 110lbs - 120lbs, and some of her lifts are:

Bench - 115lbs x 3, Ez bar curls - 50lbs x 12, Squat - 225 x 5, Shoulder Press Dumbells - 30lbs x 8, Incline DB Bench 40lbs x 5....... Im really proud of her and her strength... She started working out with me 2 years ago and benched the bar and curled the Ez bar with 20lbs for maybe 8, SO she has improved much!! She is more cut than I am as well lol!!! She will be posting some pics of her on her soon.

Anyways here are some of the pics I took last night:



















MY Current Stats:
Bench - 235 x 10, 315 x 3, Barbell Curls - 135 x 10 (no swinging), Ez Bar Curls - 120 x 12 (wide grip with 45's and 5's on each side), Hammer Curls - 65's x 8, Squat - 315 x 10 (slightly below parallel & proud lol), Barbell Row - 205 x 12, 225 x 10, Skull Crushers - 125 x 8 (45'/5's/2.5's on each side), Pulldowns - 240 x 8 (behind the neck and I make sure I touch my neck).....

Give me your opinions please!! What do I have to work on and be honest, I need criticism to push me. My fiance will be posting soon with her own pics...





DPBigPolack

[RickB]

Your traps, chest, biceps, and triceps look great. I would say to help you look a bit more complete, is add a little more to the shoulders and lower back. But really man, you do look great overall! Nice #'s too! A lot stronger than this old man on some things.

[indianballer]

I'm happy to see your back and I hope you stay true to your word about posting often. You still have great size overall so there's a lot of directions you can go. If I were you I would just go ahead and solidify everything up...start hittin high volume, high rep type stuff for a few weeks and lay off the heavy stuff...start really workin those abs and increase the cardio...since you've already lost some weight and your back is in bad shape I would say this is the safest and smartest thing to do. I know you know what you're doing though I'm just throwin my 2 cents in.

You plannin any cycles? You were getting HUGE last time I saw you around here.

[indianballer]

If I had to pick one thing I would say start bringing those shoulders out...bi's too. For a year out of the gym you look great though. Can't wait to see your pics in about 6 months.

P.S. I take it deads are out of the picture with the nature of your injury? Cleans? I think some heavy hang cleans or standing clean and press would be perfect for you if your back allows it...they would really bring out those big quick twitch fibers in your traps and shoulders and strengthen the stabilizer muscles in your middle back...I loooove cleans

[dpbigpolack]

Originally Posted by RickB

Your traps, chest, biceps, and triceps look great. I would say to help you look a bit more complete, is add a little more to the shoulders and lower back. But really man, you do look great overall! Nice #'s too! A lot stronger than this old man on some things.

Thanks bro!! Yea I have been slowly getting back into working the lower back a lot more. My shoulders are getting worked hard 1-2 times a week with heavy weight for 12-5 reps as compared to 15-8 reps for everything else, so I definitely have acknowledged those 2 parts of my body.. I take the criticism really well and I change stuff around based on that. I appreciate it!

Originally Posted by indianballer

I'm happy to see your back and I hope you stay true to your word about posting often. You still have great size overall so there's a lot of directions you can go. If I were you I would just go ahead and solidify everything up...start hittin high volume, high rep type stuff for a few weeks and lay off the heavy stuff...start really workin those abs and increase the cardio...since you've already lost some weight and your back is in bad shape I would say this is the safest and smartest thing to do. I know you know what you're doing though I'm just throwin my 2 cents in.

You plannin any cycles? You were getting HUGE last time I saw you around here.

I will stay true lol! I usually stick to higher reps for sure, 15, 12, 10, 8, +1-1..... Sometimes Ill go as low as 6 (but thats the point were I dont go heavier and I do use high weight) but usually I down go below 8.

Originally Posted by indianballer

If I had to pick one thing I would say start bringing those shoulders out...bi's too. For a year out of the gym you look great though. Can't wait to see your pics in about 6 months.

P.S. I take it deads are out of the picture with the nature of your injury? Cleans? I think some heavy hang cleans or standing clean and press would be perfect for you if your back allows it...they would really bring out those big quick twitch fibers in your traps and shoulders and strengthen the stabilizer muscles in your middle back...I loooove cleans

Well, I CAN do deads but I dont try to go over 315, usually I stick to 225 for high reps. Ill do deads occasionally but Ill try and throw those in since those used to be a part of every workout you know?? As for cleans and standing presses, I try and not do those since I really cant go very high at all, and my back does get uncomfortable. The discs are starting to go back into place... I can definitely feel a lot more movement and mobility in my lower back than usual so thats great!! I know that barbell shrugs did hurt a few weeks ago and last time I did them, I went as high as 405 for 7 or 8 so I think the cleans CAN be thrown in pretty soon...

As for the a cycle, I am messing around with a little bit of something right now.. Ill PM ya so we can discuss it a little more in detail I quess..

Anyways, I am siked that Im able to hit the gym hard again and Im walking around sore 24/7, which all of us know is great lol. I appreciate the kind words guys and Ill update the pics weekly so you guys can see the progress, yea!! The fiance and I will take some vids of our workouts starting soon...

I would love to hear more opinions from everyone!

[dpbigpolack]

A few more pics I screenshot off a video my fiance took, I was bored so I figured Id post them... They arent the best quality, since they are directly from a paused video, but it was easy to get good pics since I can capture them from my movements:
















Like I said, Ill be posting a lot more on here and Ill have pics often, I wanna get some really good pics (especially biceps) when Im at the gym...

[onetiredkris]

looking like a million bucks for a guy who took a year off!
overall a good well-rounded solid build, on the tricep pic your huge arms do kind of dwarf your shoulder a tad.

cant wait to see you progress thats forsure. just make sure your looking after that back, its easy to jump in the gym and get carried away lifting when you shouldnt be.

[recarp82]

overall pretty good work .shoulders and maybe a bit more tri drop but like the other guys said on here u can go anywhere from here.keep up the good work.

[Fed372]

Your looking super tight man. Just keep pushing. One day at a time. Youll see it all come back.

[dpbigpolack]

Originally Posted by onetiredkris

looking like a million bucks for a guy who took a year off!
overall a good well-rounded solid build, on the tricep pic your huge arms do kind of dwarf your shoulder a tad.

cant wait to see you progress thats forsure. just make sure your looking after that back, its easy to jump in the gym and get carried away lifting when you shouldnt be.

Thanks bro, yea I tend to get back into shape quicker than I used to even when I was 17 lol..... Yea the shoulders are strong but they are a bit under compared to everything else..... I train them just as hard as everything else, they just dont come up as fast as everything else but I WILL get them huge again..... Im making sure Im using proper form and being strict with the back for sure.. It has been feeling better and better!!

Originally Posted by recarp82

overall pretty good work .shoulders and maybe a bit more tri drop but like the other guys said on here u can go anywhere from here.keep up the good work.

Yea, Im workin on the tris, I beat the shit out of them at the gym... I skullcrush practically 55 on each side of the ez bar and thats for over 6 reps.. They are getting a lot bigger now for sure and I am really happy and surprised with how much weight Im putting on..

Originally Posted by Fed372

Your looking super tight man. Just keep pushing. One day at a time. Youll see it all come back.

Thanks everyone!!




More pics, I took them last night, I was pumped so I figured I would take advantage, Im blowing up and every other day Im noticing differances (its been a week, or even less, since I took the last pics) Its crazy how much you grow after you hit the gym from taking a break! anyways, I figured since Im posting progress, Id post everything that looks better and bigger than before lol:





I feel and look bigger









Check back on this thread for more updates, Ill update frequently with some new vids too.

Ill post my lifting stats up soon as well because my lifts are going up too.

[BigFiveFive]

Looking strong sir!

[recarp82]

weighted parrallel bar dips will pack on some good mass.

[rocco-x]

Originally Posted by recarp82

weighted parrallel bar dips will pack on some good mass.

best move i've made this year in adding them to my routine.i just about blew off flat benches for these.btw dp,lookin tight kid.just watch that back brother.you don't wanna be in your 40's and hardly able to do anything,ya know?

[dpbigpolack]

Heres another set of pics, I took these over the last few days:






















I have gained 14 pounds so far in 6 weeks AND my waist went down 1", my arms went up 3/4", my chest went up over an inch...

[dpbigpolack]

Heres a couple casual pics:

[dpbigpolack]

Letting everyone know that my fiancee will probably be posting her progress pictures and let everyone know about how she came to the decision to start working out (hobby), her background, and what her workouts consist of. Im preparing her for a contest and she will be doing fitness modeling as well.

Anyways, everyone check out my new pics. Ill post new numbers soon... I'll also post what my diet consists of, my workout routine, my lifts (numbers; which exercises I choose and why; what unique exercises I do)...

[RickB]

Originally Posted by dpbigpolack

Letting everyone know that my fiancee will probably be posting her progress pictures and let everyone know about how she came to the decision to start working out (hobby), her background, and what her workouts consist of. Im preparing her for a contest and she will be doing fitness modeling as well.

Cool! If the word transformation applies here, have her post her pics and story here:
http://forum.illpumpyouup.com/forumdisplay.php?f=107

Anyways, everyone check out my new pics. Ill post new numbers soon... I'll also post what my diet consists of, my workout routine, my lifts (numbers; which exercises I choose and why; what unique exercises I do)...

Looking strong bro! Keep up the good work.

[onetiredkris]

looking beefcake my man, those are some sweet bicep peaks!

[kickboy]

Looking good Boss. Arms and traps look super soild. Keep up the good work.

[j1r!!!]

Great job man! That's some great progress.