Transform Yourself From Scrawny Cyclist Into Ripped Stud: Here’s How

The time has finally arrived… after some careful preparation I’m starting my workout experiment to gain 34 lb of muscle in 4 weeks! (Check that post for all the background info…)

All these weight lifting guides are “experiments” so I’m calling this The Susquehanna Experiment. The experiment is to take a skinny cyclist with big legs but no upper body and turn him into a muscular bodybuilder. The test subject is myself. Based on the guidelines I posted about before, here’s the outline of my plan:

“Before”

In order to do before and after comparisons, I got some “before” pictures and took various measurements to gauge progress.

It also didn’t hurt that I had done quite a bit of Cyclo-Core and other bodweight workouts beforehand, to get my body ready.

Workout Basics

Here are the basic principles for this weight training program:

• One set to failure.
• Aiming for 8-10 reps per set, leading to muscular failure.
• Slow cadence. 5 seconds up and then 5 seconds down.
• Low frequency. (Max 2x per week, perhaps once every 4 days.)
• 3 minutes rest between exercises.
• Each workout will consist of 4-7 multi-joint exercises.
• Each workout will work the entire body (arms and then legs.)

The Exercises

Here are a few example exercises:

• Leg press
• Trap bar deadlift
• Overhead press
• Dips
• Incline bench press
• Yates Bent Row
• Close-grip shoulder press
• Close grip supinated pulldowns
• Hamstring curl
• Leg extension

Plus some jogging or stationary biking for a warm-up and cool-down.

The Diet

It’s simple: Lots of protein.

Building muscle means eating a lot of food, specifically protein. And of course the basics like avoiding anything white, so I only get high-quality carbs.

Finally, one day each week, cut calories by 50%. (Something about protein synthesis and/or metabolism; in other words, because Tim Ferriss says so.)

Other Notes

Very important: Record each workout in detail to track progress.

However I won’t be recording too much detail, especially about my diet. I just don’t feel like counting grams of protein each day

Stay Tuned

This is just the beginning! I’ll be posting updates along with a complete report when this is all said and done.