Josh Niemi..."The Journey"

[triplewhammy]

dayum talk about calories burned! nice supersetting there, and sorry to hear about your cold... i feel like i'm coming down with one too after a couple nights of hard partying :o

at least you're not letting it negatively affect your results in the gym! what made you decide to switch up the routine? Just wasn't sure how strong I'd be so rather than going for a PR on Corner Rows or Deads I figured I'd make the workload more difficult this way. Just feelin it!!

[triplewhammy]

UPDATE 1/29/2012

STATS
Weight: 210.4 lbs

TRAINING
CHEST DAY: Chest/Triceps/Calves
BACK DAY 1: Back/Lats/Biceps (Deadlifts)
LEG DAY: Legs (Squats)
SHOULDER DAY: Shoulders/Arms/Hamstrings
BACK DAY 2: Back/Lats/Biceps (Corner Rows)
CARDIO: Treadmill/Stepmill/Elliptical

DIET
Diet will be locked in at 3000 cals/day as I begin my diet, still 250g protein as well. Cheat meals will be minimized. BCAA dosings are 1/2 scoop AMS Body Mortar providing primarily 3.5g Leucine and 15g carbs. Since, I sometimes use Xtend for these BCAA dosings, I don't count the calories in Body Mortar even though several doses does add up. If the weightloss stalls out, I will drop down to around 2700 calories to keep it giong.

6:00am Meal 1 (~600 cals)
8:00am BCAAs
10:00am Meal 2 (~600 cals)
12:00pm BCAAs
2:00pm Meal 3 (~600 cals)
3:30pm-5:00pm BCAAs
5:30pm Meal 4 (~600 cals)
6:30pm Meal 5 (~600 cals)
8:30pm BCAAs

SUPPLEMENTATION
Performance:
DS Triazole
SNS DAA
Scivation Novem
SNS Adrena-G
AMS Body Mortar
Scivation Xtend
Genomyx Slin-Sane

Support:
USPlabs Super Cissus
Primaforce Cissus
Multivitamin
Fish Oil
Protein Powder

THOUGHTS
Well I've been hit with my 3rd cold of the winter but I'm trying to truck on through it. Definitely not easy to diet while sick but I can't afford to let up now. The weight loss continues to tick along fairly well and my strength loss has kinda leveled out now. Today I finally notched the weightlifting belt in one notch so that is great visual progress!

On the supplement front I'm back on the Triazole/DAA combo. I'm giving the 4 weeks on / 4 weeks off rotation a try to see how effective it is. Hopefully this helps me retain lean mass and perhaps bump the strength up a bit. If nothing else, I get fantastic recovery on this stack and that is something not to be overlooked while dieting. I will be running 3g DAA and 3 caps Triazole the entire time up until the last few days where I'll drop out DAA and go just with Triazole solo. Pretty basic and straightforward.

Not a whole lot else to say right now. Slowly working my way out of my 38'' jeans, really just the legs/glutes that need the room. The tentative plan is still to diet for 4 more weeks and then drop the stims and do a lean bulk for 4-8 weeks. So I really want to maximize this final 4 weeks and get my physique in a good spot to take a break from dieting. So I'm at 3000 calories right now but if it looks like I'm spinning my wheels then I'm going to drop down to 2700 and possibly 2500.


Josh

[triplewhammy]

Hit up a pretty solid Shoulders/Biceps/Calves workout last night. Still stuck at 11 reps on HS Shoulder Press 4pps but that's alright for now I suppose. Also had a wicked good pump in my biceps and hit them pretty well too. Preworkout I tried a sample of C4 (blue-raz) and that was pretty good, I'm definitely a fan of nitrate-based products. I also stacked it with 50mg DMAA. The energy didn't feel like as much as 3 scoops Novem + 50mg DMAA but ah well...

[triplewhammy]

Hit up some cardio today, didn't run on the treadmill though since my lower back has been tense. 10 minutes elliptical, 10 minutes bike, 20 minutes stepmill. Gettin lean(er)! :D

[coolguydsc21]

130lb. DB's! Unreal man. i gotta see this press man.

[nads786]

how much weight have you lost so far? How carefully are you monitoring your calories?

[triplewhammy]

130lb. DB's! Unreal man. i gotta see this press man. The 140s were more impressive but I'm afraid I'm not up to those anymore :(


how much weight have you lost so far? How carefully are you monitoring your calories? 10 pounds in 8 weeks. Not great for fat loss but fantastic for muscle/strength retaining. I'm monitoring them pretty carefully but I'm not OCD about it. I eyeball my meals to within 50-100 calories. It really doesn't matter to me if I lose 1.1 pounds in a week or 1.6 pounds, so long as I'm between 1 and 2 I'm completely fine with it.

[triplewhammy]

Pretty solid Leg Day today, I left feeling miserable so that means it's good right?

Squats:
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 12 (last one was janky form...)

Machine Squat Press:
380 x 10
470 x 10
560 x 10

4 sets Lying Leg Curl
2 sets GHRs
2 sets Seated Leg Extension

Now that my belt is moved in a notch I am having difficulty sucking in enough oxygen towards the end of the squat sets but on the positive side my lower back is so locked in that it doesn't get overstressed. I'll take it.

[RichL1982]

Pretty solid Leg Day today, I left feeling miserable so that means it's good right?

Squats:
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 12 (last one was janky form...)

Machine Squat Press:
380 x 10
470 x 10
560 x 10

4 sets Lying Leg Curl
2 sets GHRs
2 sets Seated Leg Extension

Now that my belt is moved in a notch I am having difficulty sucking in enough oxygen towards the end of the squat sets but on the positive side my lower back is so locked in that it doesn't get overstressed. I'll take it.

Yes! The worse you feel on leg day the better. LOL...My gym has for steps I have to walk up after leg day...Feels like im walking up the statue of liberty

[triplewhammy]

Yes! The worse you feel on leg day the better. LOL...My gym has for steps I have to walk up after leg day...Feels like im walking up the statue of liberty Haha yeah I know what you mean...waddling out LOL!

[Railingz]

Glad to see all is going well bro. Got a question for you.


www.iifym.com - Been using their calculator as a rough guide on how many calories I'm burning per day. I'm down 1.2lbs since Monday, so 5 days of deflict following this calculator.

However it's saying for someone my height, weight a 70 minute workout, swimming, running burns around 600 calories. Now I know swimming, running I'd burn more than just 600. More around 800, however are workouts that good in terms of burning calories?

On a day with heavy weights, high sets I can see it, but at same time 600 calories is alot, no?

[triplewhammy]

Glad to see all is going well bro. Got a question for you.


www.iifym.com - Been using their calculator as a rough guide on how many calories I'm burning per day. I'm down 1.2lbs since Monday, so 5 days of deflict following this calculator.

However it's saying for someone my height, weight a 70 minute workout, swimming, running burns around 600 calories. Now I know swimming, running I'd burn more than just 600. More around 800, however are workouts that good in terms of burning calories?

On a day with heavy weights, high sets I can see it, but at same time 600 calories is alot, no? I never consider my weight training workouts when factoring my caloric deficit for the day. I don't see how it could be around 600 calories. I only compensate for burned calories if I do a cardio workout, or if something like my job is active during the day (hours of walking, etc).

[triplewhammy]

Strength is slowly going down on pressing motions and it stinks but not much I can really do about it other than fight it every step of the way. Hit up Chest/Triceps/Calves today and for Flat DB Press I did the 120s x 10 and 130s x 5. Also did Incline DB Press 100s x 7. Triceps were exceptionally strong but I don't place a ton of value on hitting PRs for these secondary groups even though it's still good motivation. Just gonna keep grindin it out.

[Radio89]

Still crazy strong pressing man!

[triplewhammy]

Still crazy strong pressing man! I'll take it, that's for sure. Just gotta keep fighting it!

[triplewhammy]

Hit up Back/Lats/Biceps today. Pretty solid overall. I decided to go with Corner Rows as my primary movement since lately Hex Deads have been taking over. I wanted to see where my full strength was at on that exercises now that I'm dieting.

Corner Rows:
1p x 15
2p x 10
3p x 8
4p x 8
5p x 8
6p x 18
7p x 6

Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown:
90 x 12
110 x 10
130 x 8
150 x 8
170 x 8
200 x 8

Parallel-Grip Lat Pulldown:
200 x 8
180 x 8

Standing Barbell Curl:
65 x 10
80 x 8
95 x 8
110 x 8

HS Iso Row:
1pps x 10
2pps x 8
3pps x 12

3 sets Shrugs
5 sets 1-Arm Machine Curl


Also for anyone that's interested, I will be running White Blood 2 in the Sponsored Log section. Feel free to follow along there as well.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=142099101

Just started it today, time to get PUMPED UP!

[triplewhammy]

Hit up some cardio today. 10 minutes Elliptical, 10 min Bike, 10 min Treadmill, 10 min Stairmaster. My muscles were lonely without their pump today. :(

On a side note, Dr. Oz was on one of the TVs at Gold's Gym. The topic was "Hypnosis for Weight Loss." I followed along while sweating profusely during my cardio session.

[Reid456]

Hit up some cardio today. 10 minutes Elliptical, 10 min Bike, 10 min Treadmill, 10 min Stairmaster. My muscles were lonely without their pump today. :(

On a side note, Dr. Oz was on one of the TVs at Gold's Gym. The topic was "Hypnosis for Weight Loss." I followed along while sweating profusely during my cardio session.
Haha, you mean, you followed along while doing what the lazy people on TV know they should be doing.

[triplewhammy]

Boy I am definitely hitting some major adrenal fatigue. The preworkout stims are just not hitting very hard at all anymore. Looking forward to taking a break in a couple weeks. Anyway, I hit up Shoulders/Triceps/Hamstrings today. Worked my way up on Hammer Strength Shoulder Press to 4pps x 11. Really working hard to grind out the reps and stay in double digits on these pressing exercises. Pump was without a doubt noticeably above average today. The triceps especially responded very well to high reps (15-ish) with the WB2 flowing through my veins. Now that I think about it, even my hammies felt more pumped than usual too. I am definitely enjoying the visual motivation if nothing else! :cool:

[triplewhammy]

Haha, you mean, you followed along while doing what the lazy people on TV know they should be doing. LOL yup pretty much. :cool:

[RichL1982]

Boy I am definitely hitting some major adrenal fatigue. The preworkout stims are just not hitting very hard at all anymore. Looking forward to taking a break in a couple weeks. Anyway, I hit up Shoulders/Triceps/Hamstrings today. Worked my way up on Hammer Strength Shoulder Press to 4pps x 11. Really working hard to grind out the reps and stay in double digits on these pressing exercises. Pump was without a doubt noticeably above average today. The triceps especially responded very well to high reps (15-ish) with the WB2 flowing through my veins. Now that I think about it, even my hammies felt more pumped than usual too. I am definitely enjoying the visual motivation if nothing else! :cool:

Adrenal Fatigue does suck! Gotta get those non-stims in. Damn 7p corner rows!!!!! Heavy weight right there!

[triplewhammy]

Adrenal Fatigue does suck! Gotta get those non-stims in. Damn 7p corner rows!!!!! Heavy weight right there! Oh yeah tell me about it. I'm looking forward to going stim-free. Only reason I'm hanging on is because I know the Arnold Expo is going to be chock full of stims :D

[triplewhammy]

UPDATE 2/12/2012


http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4122161&d=1328670093


STATS
Weight: 207.4 lbs

TRAINING
CHEST DAY: Chest/Triceps/Calves
BACK DAY 1: Back/Lats/Biceps (Deadlifts)
LEG DAY: Legs (Squats)
SHOULDER DAY: Shoulders/Arms/Hamstrings
BACK DAY 2: Back/Lats/Biceps (Corner Rows)
CARDIO: Treadmill/Stepmill/Elliptical

DIET
Diet will be locked in at 3000 cals/day as I begin my diet, still 250g protein as well. Cheat meals will be minimized. BCAA dosings are 1/2 scoop AMS Body Mortar providing primarily 3.5g Leucine and 15g carbs. Since, I sometimes use Xtend for these BCAA dosings, I don't count the calories in Body Mortar even though several doses does add up. If the weightloss stalls out, I will drop down to around 2700 calories to keep it giong.

6:00am Meal 1 (~600 cals)
8:00am BCAAs
10:00am Meal 2 (~600 cals)
12:00pm BCAAs
2:00pm Meal 3 (~600 cals)
3:30pm-5:00pm BCAAs
5:30pm Meal 4 (~600 cals)
6:30pm Meal 5 (~600 cals)
8:30pm BCAAs

SUPPLEMENTATION
Performance:
CL White Blood 2
DS Triazole
SNS DAA
Scivation Novem
SNS Adrena-G
AMS Body Mortar
Scivation Xtend

Support:
USPlabs Super Cissus
Primaforce Cissus
Multivitamin
Fish Oil
Protein Powder

THOUGHTS
Pumped to see another 3 pounds down in 2 weeks -- perfect 1.5 lb / week rate yes! I've been working outside lately and I think all the walking during the day has helped burn off any extra cals I eat. So, I will be sticking with 3000 calories per day. The technique to my cutting cycles is this: eat as much as you can and do as little cardio as you can for as long as you can while still losing 1-2 pounds per week. So you could think of it as "The Slackers Diet." Basically, if I can keep a 1-2 pound per week rate loss doing as little work as I can, not only will it be more tolerable long term but I will have plenty of wiggle room to overcome plateaus. Far too often I see people jump head first into the deep end of dieting by cutting back calories severely and ramping up cardio to 3 or more times per week. The weight comes off great at first and then when it stalls out there is little more you can do other than starving yourself and burning out your system with 7 day/week workouts. After that you have nothing to compensate with and ultimately your strength suffers, you increase muscle loss, and fat loss stops altogether.

Anyway, strength so far has been doing okay. I definitely had an initial strength loss but it seems to have halted for awhile at least. The two biggest exercises that have suffered are my Chest Presses and my Shoulder Presses. But I feel like I'm keeping a great deal of muscle regardless so as long as I keep fighting it and grinding it out I'll be alright.

As I mentioned before, my adrenal glands are pretty close to shot. I've got about 2.5 more weeks to stick with the stims until I will be taking a break and also doing a short lean bulk. I figure by increasing calories it will offset any strength loss I might encounter once I become a walking zombie for 4 weeks.

As far as White Blood 2, there is certainly a noticeable pump effect that I'm seeing definitely in the arms but also in my hammies and other muscles as well. This is a great benefit not merely for the aesthetic purposes (mirror motivation), but I like it for helping me warm up and get the blood flowing. Still have only put in a couple workouts with it so I don't have a ton else to say about yet.


Josh

[nads786]

I think everyones pressing exercises are affected by cutting, so you're good there. How many mgs of caffeine were you using at your height?

[triplewhammy]

I think everyones pressing exercises are affected by cutting, so you're good there. How many mgs of caffeine were you using at your height? Oh it's bad. Workout days I'm prolly around 100-150mg in the morning and 200-300 in the afternoon (preworkout). Non-workout days I'm around 200mg.

[triplewhammy]

Hit Legs today and I'm going to be honest...I just felt like plain junk in the gym today. I still managed to have a solid workout but man, energy-wise I am just shot...

Squats:
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 12

4 sets Seated Leg Extension
4 sets Seated Leg Curl


Kept it short and sweet, almost lost my lunch after that 315 set and just felt a bit light-headed afterwards...

[nads786]

it happens man, especially on a cut and if you have a weird sleep schedule, was this a workout without stims?

[triplewhammy]

it happens man, especially on a cut and if you have a weird sleep schedule, was this a workout without stims? Yeah I know, I can just tell my body is winding down LOL! I'm still rocking stims until the beginning of March, today I was ~275mg caffeine + 50mg DMAA. I may try 75mg DMAA for my next workout -- dirty, I know.

[nads786]

what is DMAA? is that caffeine or something else?

[triplewhammy]

what is DMAA? is that caffeine or something else? It is a different stimulant. 1,3-dimethylamylamine also commonly called "geranium (extract)"

[triplewhammy]

On Monday I hit up some cardio. Did 10 minutes Elliptical, 10 minutes Treadmill (1.28 miles), 10 minutes Incline Treadmill Walk, and 10 minutes bike.

Yesterday, I went to see The Vow with the wife. :D Also, found out that our 2nd kid is going to be a girl! Pretty excited about that, we have 1 of each now so if we are done having kids it's all good, if not...it's all good!

Today I went to work exhausted, couldn't sleep last night so I only got about 6 hours. Work ended a little late too so I had to get in and out of the gym fairly quick. I only spent 1 hr lifting which is a much quicker pace than I like. Hit up Chest/Triceps/Calves and worked my way up to 120s x 11 for Flat DB Press. So all things considered I was actually pretty pleased with today's workout.

[triplewhammy]

Hit up some cardio today: 10 minutes Elliptical, 10 minutes bike, 20 minutes Stepmill. DONE!

[triplewhammy]

Had a pretty legit Back/Bicep/Lats day today. White Blood 2 gave me a fantastic pump much earlier in my workout than normal. I don't hit my biceps until after all of my Corner Row sets and by the time I began the bicep exercises they were already well swelled up. Good stuff! Energy was still just so-so but I made it work. Strength seemed to hang on just fine but focus and drive were almost nonexistant.

Corner Rows:
1p x 15
2p x 12
3p x 10
4p x 8
5p x 8
6p x 8
7p x 8

Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown:
90 x 10
110 x 10
130 x 8
150 x 8
170 x 8
190 x 8
200 x 8

DB Row:
80s x 8
90s x 8
100s x 8

Standing Barbell Curl
55 x 12
70 x 10
85 x 8
100 x 8

Standing DB Hammer Curl:
25s x 10
30s x 8
35s x 8

3 sets Shrugs
6 sets various Bicep Exercises

[triplewhammy]

Hit up a SOLID 60 minutes of cardio yesterday. Wasn't overly strenuous but I definitely burned some calories! Keeping the fatloss train rolling!!

10 min Ellipitical
10 min Recumbent Bike
10 min Elliptical
10 min Recumbent Bike
10 min Upright Bike
10 min Incline Treadmill Walk

[Railingz]

What kind of training/rep ranges have you found that have worked best for pure growth bro?

I've recently started cutting and looking back at my short bulk I made solid strength gains, but struggled to gain any real size.

[triplewhammy]

What kind of training/rep ranges have you found that have worked best for pure growth bro?

I've recently started cutting and looking back at my short bulk I made solid strength gains, but struggled to gain any real size. Really tough to give a definitive answer to that question, but I've found that high-volume has really worked well for me. I used to have a specific number of sets in mind before a workout and stick only to that. It was much too rigid and I cut myself short. Now I know pretty well where my strength is so I work my way up to it during the workout but after that I don't simply stop and walk out. I move on to other exercises and basically try to get in as much "heavy" volume as I can. Hence, my workout typically are in the 1.5-2 hour range. I laugh when I think about workouts years ago that I could finish in 45 minutes!

The other tip, as far as cutting goes, is to STAY HEAVY. Resist the temptation to "tone" by going with lighter weights and higher reps. It doesn't work. As Layne has said many times, what grows muscle the best also preserves muscle the best. Be safe, but keep it heavy.

[triplewhammy]

Hit up Shoulders/Triceps/Hamstrings today and had a great workout. Very high volume and I was in the gym for a solid 2 hours. I decided to bump my DMAA intake up since I've been dragging lately. Unfortunately, my DMAA pills are in 25mg increments (I would prefer 10mg or so) which means I am up from 50mg to 75mg. To try to offset such a drastic jump in stims though, I took 1 of the 3 DMAA pills immediately following my preworkout meal with the hopes that the food would diminish the effects of it to some extent. Then about 1-1.5 hours later I took my usual preworkout caffeine + 50mg DMAA. Seemed to work well and I will try to stick with this for a bit here.

As far as the workout goes, I worked my way up to 4pps x 11 for HS Shoulder Press (yet again). Seems that has been a consistent limit for me lately but I don't have any problems if I can keep my strength there for awhile. White Blood 2 got me nice and pumped as always and my triceps got hit very well and swelled up quite nicely. I've been making sure to stay hydrated especially since there is glycerine in the WB2.

[triplewhammy]

Had a pretty solid Leg workout today. Numbers weren't amazing but I was DOG TIRED going in, with next to zero focus, and came very close to throwing up several times. Was also incredibly fatigued with a bit of a dizzy feeling throughout the workout.

Squats:
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 10

3 sets Squat Machine Press
2 sets Glute-Ham Raises
4 sets Lying Leg Curls
3 sets Seated Leg Extensions

Glad to get this workout in, and glad it's over. :cool:

[lhockey]

andd i'm back in this bish :D

too bad about losing strength on your pressing movements, but that's totally expected on a cut! you're still crushing it too... especially with how little energy you've had recently. Keep it up josh!

[triplewhammy]

andd i'm back in this bish :D

too bad about losing strength on your pressing movements, but that's totally expected on a cut! you're still crushing it too... especially with how little energy you've had recently. Keep it up josh! Thanks bro! It is definitely getting difficult, as I've been cutting for almost 12 weeks now and my stim tolerance is ridiculously high to the point where stims are virtually ineffective...lol

[triplewhammy]

Hit up Chest/Triceps/Calves today and had a pretty solid workout. I decided to go heavy on bench to not only see where my strength is but also to mix it up since I've been hitting the Flat DB Press for awhile now...

Bench:
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 3
315 x 2.5 (fingertip spot)
225 x 13

Incline DB Press:
70s x 8
100s x 7

Straight Bar Pressdown:
60 x 15
70 x 15
80 x 15
90 x 10
110 x 10
130 x 10
STACK (150?) x 25

2 sets Machine Skull Crushers
4 sets 1-Arm Cable Pressdowns
8+ sets various Calf Exercises

All-in-all pretty pleased with this workout. I figured I'd lost a bit on my 315 bench set (hit 4 reps a couple months ago...) but in all honesty it didn't FEEL heavy which I'm happy with. I was just fatigued, plain and simple. Also, my triceps BLEW UP and had a wonderful pump going on them, especially after that 25-rep set. Chest also was nice and filled out too. Very pleased with how White Blood 2 reacted to this workout. Was feeling a bit more thirsty than usual so I was drinking quite a bit of H2O intraworkout.

[jaredmus]

keep it up in here, liking white blood? im using it too 3 weeks out, pumps increased for me. saww your taking novem love the taste of mixed berry totally different from anything i have had. good product nice profile nothing to crazy stimmed out for me would you agree? really underrated IMO

[triplewhammy]

Pounded out some cardio today...gotta keep the fat loss coming! 5 minutes Elliptical, 5 minutes Bike, 15 minutes Treadmill (1.76 miles), 10 minutes Stepmill. And...DONE!

[Railingz]

Really tough to give a definitive answer to that question, but I've found that high-volume has really worked well for me. I used to have a specific number of sets in mind before a workout and stick only to that. It was much too rigid and I cut myself short. Now I know pretty well where my strength is so I work my way up to it during the workout but after that I don't simply stop and walk out. I move on to other exercises and basically try to get in as much "heavy" volume as I can. Hence, my workout typically are in the 1.5-2 hour range. I laugh when I think about workouts years ago that I could finish in 45 minutes!

The other tip, as far as cutting goes, is to STAY HEAVY. Resist the temptation to "tone" by going with lighter weights and higher reps. It doesn't work. As Layne has said many times, what grows muscle the best also preserves muscle the best. Be safe, but keep it heavy.

Thanks bro, well I'm four weeks in, got 8 weeks left and I'm looking better, nowhere near lean enough to be happy. But my workouts/strength havn't suffered too much, few reps here n there. I can press same weight with all db excercises slightly lower with BB. Pretty happy though.


Good to see you're killing it. Need updates with pics bro

[swimmer32]

Pounded out some cardio today...gotta keep the fat loss coming! 5 minutes Elliptical, 5 minutes Bike, 15 minutes Treadmill (1.76 miles), 10 minutes Stepmill. And...DONE!

I like this cardio workout. Cardio is SO BORING - but mixing it up this much looks good!

EDIT: Unreal chest workout. You're a monster.

[triplewhammy]

My trainer in the gym today was relentless. He kept taunting me with carbs and saying "what's this?" during every set. Had a pretty solid Back/Lats/Biceps session though!

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4178401&d=1330208704

Corner Rows:
1p x 12
2p x 10
3p x 8
4p x 8
5p x 8
6p x 8
7p x 10 (last couple reps a bit sloppy)
5p x 12
3p x 15

Standing DB Curl:
20 x 12
25 x 10
30 x 8
40 x 8
50 x 8

3 sets Standing E-Z Bar Curl
3 sets DB Shrugs
2 sets Machine Bicep Curl
2 sets Bent Over 1-Arm Spider Curl
12+ sets Wide-Grip Pulldown

[lhockey]

good to see you going so heavy on bench this far into your cut! lol at your trainer, he looks like a real hardass :p

[triplewhammy]

Well the weight is still ticking off and I'm finally starting to look/feel like I'm getting a good shred on. By no means is my bodyfat what I would consider low, but the definition is creeping in ever slow slightly so I'm not just feeling fat and weak as much anymore.

Today I hit up Shoulders/Biceps/Calves. Had pretty good energy for whatever reason (especially despite only getting 6 or so hours of sleep). Got 12 reps on HS Shoulder Press 4pps which was fantastic! Very happy about that. Also, the pump I got in my biceps was tremendous from the White Blood 2. Really swelled up nicely and there is no doubt that you get a noticeable pump effect from this product. I'm very curious to see anyone stacking this with White Flood 2, as I think the pump would probably cause your arm to explode. LOL!

[triplewhammy]

Hit up cardio today: 10 minutes elliptical, 10 minutes bike, 20 minutes stepmill. KEEPIN THE SHRED ROLLING!

[lhockey]

i forgot what your highest HS shoulder press was- 4PPSx14? 12 reps is awesome this deep into your cut! Especially on only 6 hours of sleep... lately if I get less than 8 hours for more than a few nights in a row, I start to get sick. fck winter man :(

Any progress pics coming soon?

[5Six]

Adorable picture. Good to see you're still going f'n strong! Great job bud

[triplewhammy]

i forgot what your highest HS shoulder press was- 4PPSx14? 12 reps is awesome this deep into your cut! Especially on only 6 hours of sleep... lately if I get less than 8 hours for more than a few nights in a row, I start to get sick. fck winter man :(

Any progress pics coming soon? Yeah hopefully I can get some pics up soon here, really haven't had much "progress" to show yet, but I have lost 15 pounds so that's good. I actually hit my goal of 4pps x 15 awhile back. I think I only hit it once or twice so it's not some strength that has "stuck" yet.


Adorable picture. Good to see you're still going f'n strong! Great job bud Thanks! Yep, still chugging along!

[triplewhammy]

Well Wednesday I hit up Legs and boy it was a doozy. Squatted 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 8, 275 x 8, and 315 x 11. I was just feeling AWFUL -- dizzy, light-headed, etc. So I did 3 sets Lying Leg Curl and 3 sets of Machine Squat Press and then rolled out. Was dangerously close to throwing up too. I figured I'd cut the workout short since I was pressed for time anyway.

This weekend I am up at the Arnold Classic in Columbus as always. This is the first time I've gone on Friday, normally I just do Saturday and Sunday. So, I'm getting tons of swag :cool: After the expo this evening I hit up a Shoulder/Tricep/Calf workout. Had to switch up my exercises a bit since the gym was different but overall it was pretty solid. I didn't have a lot of energy after spending the entire day walking around but I still managed to have a good high-volume workout. I definitely hit the stims hard throughout the day since after the Expo I will be taking a stim break. Time to go out with a bang.

[lhockey]

Well Wednesday I hit up Legs and boy it was a doozy. Squatted 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 8, 275 x 8, and 315 x 11. I was just feeling AWFUL -- dizzy, light-headed, etc. So I did 3 sets Lying Leg Curl and 3 sets of Machine Squat Press and then rolled out. Was dangerously close to throwing up too. I figured I'd cut the workout short since I was pressed for time anyway.

This weekend I am up at the Arnold Classic in Columbus as always. This is the first time I've gone on Friday, normally I just do Saturday and Sunday. So, I'm getting tons of swag :cool: After the expo this evening I hit up a Shoulder/Tricep/Calf workout. Had to switch up my exercises a bit since the gym was different but overall it was pretty solid. I didn't have a lot of energy after spending the entire day walking around but I still managed to have a good high-volume workout. I definitely hit the stims hard throughout the day since after the Expo I will be taking a stim break. Time to go out with a bang.

Damn Josh, how much are you sleeping? Can't believe you almost threw up during your workout! You got it done though :cool:

Also what do you mean by "hitting the stims hard"? Jealous that you're at the Expo!

[triplewhammy]

Damn Josh, how much are you sleeping? Can't believe you almost threw up during your workout! You got it done though :cool:

Also what do you mean by "hitting the stims hard"? Jealous that you're at the Expo! I've been sleeping around 7 hours a night lately, which isn't quite enough. Hopefully that will be improving soon.

As far as hitting the stims hard, last week I was taking 1 Spirodex in the AM, followed by ~300mg + 50mg DMAA in the PM. :eek:

The expo was fantastic, I am fully stocked on supplements for a looong time to come.

[triplewhammy]

This past weekend was fantastic at the Arnold Expo. On Saturday night we hit up another 10pm workout and I threw down Lats/Biceps/Hamstrings. The amount of walking we did had me feeling beat down and the sleep was not really enough each night but I made it work. Both fun and strange to hit such a late workout...especially taking a sample of Hemo-Rage at 9pm!

Now that the Arnold is over I am officially going stim-free for a month and today was my first non-stim workout....definitely felt weird. I ended up hitting Chest and Back which is rare for me but I needed to do this combo in light of missing these bodyparts over the weekend. My strength was surprisingly still pretty good although my energy and focus were absolutely shot LOL!

Corner Rows:
1p x 12
2p x 10
3p x 8
4p x 8
5p x 8
6p x 8
7p x 6

Flat DB Press:
70s x 12
95s x 10
110s x 8
120s x 10

HS Iso Row:
1pps x 12
2pps x 8
3pps x 12

Incline DB Press:
70s x 10
85s x 8
100s x 10 (great set!)

[triplewhammy]

OH SWEET MOTHER....yesterday's Leg workout was brutal. No stims plus I have another cold (granted, it seems to be minor but still...). I was exhausted all day, even accidentally nodding off a bit at work. So there was basically zero energy, drive, or focus for the workout. In light of that, I actually consider this a pretty decent workout.

Squats:
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 10

Machine Squat Press:
200 x 12
380 x 10
470 x 10
560 x 10

Lying Leg Curl:
65 x 12
80 x 10
95 x 10
110 x 10
125 x 8
110 x 10

Seated Leg Extension
85 x 15
115 x 15


I hope this stim-free month goes quickly...today was brutal.

[triplewhammy]

Managed to crank out another stim-free workout. Shoulders/Triceps/Calves were hit. Started with 0 energy and ended with 0 energy, but I made the best of it and got 10 reps on HS Shoulder Press 4pps. Also put in quite a bit of volume on my triceps and they were feeling pretty strong. They also got a wicked pump from WB2 which was nice. One thing I've noticed is that my mind-muscle connection actually seems BETTER without stims for some reason. It's like I can "feel" just how heavy the weight is against my joints and muscles...really interesting. Anyway, every day I get through is another closer to getting some caffeine back in my system hahaha....

[triplewhammy]

Actually had a pretty good workout yesterday! Still not a ton of natural energy but definitely improving. Hit up Back/Lats/Biceps...

Hex Bar Deadlifts:
135 x 10
225 x 8
315 x 8
405 x 12

Standing DB Curls:
20 x 15
25 x 10
30 x 10
40 x 8
50 x 8

Lat Pulldowns:
50 x 12
70 x 10
90 x 10
110 x 10
130 x 10
150 x 10
170 x 10
150 x 10
130 x 10

Corner Rows:
1p x 15
2p x 15
3p x 15
4p x 15

Standing E-Z Bar Curls:
75 x 10
95 x 10
105 x 8

3 sets Machine Bicep Curls
3 sets DB Shrugs

[lhockey]

last few workouts are still looking great without stims! DB benching 120sx10 and incline 100sx10 is pretty awesome :cool:

spirodex followed by that much caffeine and 1,3?! if you're not getting withdrawal headaches now, you are some kind of superhuman freak :p. hope you get over your cold quickly!

two questions- how is your back holding up with the deadlifting and squatting? and what kind of supps did you stock up on at the arnold?

[triplewhammy]

last few workouts are still looking great without stims! DB benching 120sx10 and incline 100sx10 is pretty awesome :cool:

spirodex followed by that much caffeine and 1,3?! if you're not getting withdrawal headaches now, you are some kind of superhuman freak :p. hope you get over your cold quickly!

two questions- how is your back holding up with the deadlifting and squatting? and what kind of supps did you stock up on at the arnold? I like dropping my stims like my Thanksgiving leftovers -- cold turkey. :cool:

Back is holding up very well surprisingly. I have cissus and glucosamine on order right now since I ran out but everything is doing really well. My Inzer Lever Belt has made a huge difference in my training. I will post a picture of my Arnold stash soon...it is deadly.

[nads786]

good question to ask about your back, I forgot if you mentioned this but was it herniated? What are your thoughts on wearing a belt with barbell rows?

[triplewhammy]

good question to ask about your back, I forgot if you mentioned this but was it herniated? What are your thoughts on wearing a belt with barbell rows? The doc couldn't find anything to officially diagnose but I was in a lot of pain. I recommend a belt on any bent over type motion, as well as deadlifts and squats, including warm up sets. Safety first.

[triplewhammy]

Highlights from today's Chest/Tricep/Calf workout includes Flat DB Press 120s x 10, Straight Bar Pressdowns STACK x 26, and Machine Incline Press 180 x 20. Still tired going into the workout of course, but starting not to feel quite so "bombed out" as a few days ago. Phenomenal pump with White Blood 2 in the Chest and Triceps. Not much else to say.

[NoFitnessNoLife]

Never wore belt in my life, I guess I really should consider to do so? strenght gains coming pretty rapidly. :)

[triplewhammy]

Never wore belt in my life, I guess I really should consider to do so? strenght gains coming pretty rapidly. :) I wish someone would have told me to wear a belt when I was your age.

[triplewhammy]

Hit up some cardio today... 10 minutes Elliptical, 5 minutes Bike, 10 minutes Treadmill, 10 minutes Stepmill. Pretty basic, not looking to burn a ton of cals just get my heart rate up a bit and get moving!

A few interesting things I saw during my cardio session:
1. A guy wearing a beanie during his workout despite near-record temperatures here in Illinois (high 70s).
2. A guy with such bad left-right muscle imbalance and form while benching that the bar was at almost a 45 degree angle during the pressing motion.
3. A guy wearing an Under Armor shirt so tight I seriously thought he was walking around with body paint on.

Just another day in the gym!

[nads786]

Love this weather though right? spring is already here. What are your thoughts on rack pulls have considered doing them since deadlifts are too risky for you?

[triplewhammy]

Love this weather though right? spring is already here. What are your thoughts on rack pulls have considered doing them since deadlifts are too risky for you? Yes this weather is great! Never done rack deads...just been hittin the hex deads and corner rows for back size.

[lhockey]

I wish someone would have told me to wear a belt when I was your age.

I always use a belt for squatting, but I can never decide with regard to deadlifts! I'm doing mostly romanian deads now, and I just feel like the back isn't hit as hard without the belt, which is the main purpose of doing the lift. Hmm decisions decisions.

In for more thoughts on white blood!

[triplewhammy]

I always use a belt for squatting, but I can never decide with regard to deadlifts! I'm doing mostly romanian deads now, and I just feel like the back isn't hit as hard without the belt, which is the main purpose of doing the lift. Hmm decisions decisions.

In for more thoughts on white blood! I jacked up my lower back BAD from deadlifts. Perhaps the back isn't hit as hard, who knows. Either way it won't get hit at all if you wind up in the ER like I did!

WB2 is good for pumps although so far I think I like White Flood 2 better. Hydration and higher reps seem to be the key for WB2 whereas WF2 can pump you up no matter what. I'd love to hear some feedback from anyone using both at the same time....it would be epic!

[triplewhammy]

Not gonna lie, actually had a SOLID Leg day today! Still tired as always but everything was firing pretty well today, including my joints. I've been out of Cissus and Glucosamine for about a week now and saw some show up at my door after working out so I'm looking forward to my joints feeling a bit better. Pumps seemed "ok" with WB2, not that I was expecting much for a leg workout though.

Squats:
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 11

Machine Squat Press:
290 x 12
380 x 12
470 x 15

Seated Leg Extension:
85 x 15
100 x 15
130 x 15

Lying Leg Curls:
65 x 10
80 x 10
95 x 10
110 x 10
125 x 10
95 x 12

[lhockey]

I can see WF being better because it has some pretty intense stims in it too. Glad to hear WB works though!

interesting to see you throwing some machine squats in! nice numbers with 315x11. was the seated leg extension a tough machine, or were you just taking it easier at that point? The one at my gym feels really light with anything under 150-160lbs

[JJWheyy]

Hey Josh whats up?

You know for your lying leg curls what kind of position do you put your foot in? I've found I'm weak at the end range of motion so I started pointing my toes out and I feel it much more in the upper part of my hams. Dunno if thats common knowledge but would you suggest varying foot position?

[triplewhammy]

I can see WF being better because it has some pretty intense stims in it too. Glad to hear WB works though!

interesting to see you throwing some machine squats in! nice numbers with 315x11. was the seated leg extension a tough machine, or were you just taking it easier at that point? The one at my gym feels really light with anything under 150-160lbs

Yeah my quads were pretty well shot so it was just 15 rep sets with extreme focus and controlled contractions. I probably should increase the weight in the future though. I was just looking for something simple to burn me up and finish me off.


Hey Josh whats up?

You know for your lying leg curls what kind of position do you put your foot in? I've found I'm weak at the end range of motion so I started pointing my toes out and I feel it much more in the upper part of my hams. Dunno if thats common knowledge but would you suggest varying foot position? What's up! I keep my feet in line with my legs but I point my toes up towards my shins. I don't purposely point my toes in or out. The biggest trick for me is to focus on curling with my hammies rather than pulling with my glutes similar to doing bicep curls and trying to eliminate the pulling element out of the shoulders.

[JJWheyy]

What's up! I keep my feet in line with my legs but I point my toes up towards my shins. I don't purposely point my toes in or out. The biggest trick for me is to focus on curling with my hammies rather than pulling with my glutes similar to doing bicep curls and trying to eliminate the pulling element out of the shoulders.

Ah awesome, fair enough. Forgot to ask also, I'm not BB squatting, only using hack squat machine. I find that when the sets are light, I can use more glutes but when it gets heavy its like only my quads are working. Should I be keeping the weight low enough to feel my glutes? say 2 sets focus on glutes 2 sets on quads? I'm just kinda limited for exercises atm.

Cheers dude

[triplewhammy]

Ah awesome, fair enough. Forgot to ask also, I'm not BB squatting, only using hack squat machine. I find that when the sets are light, I can use more glutes but when it gets heavy its like only my quads are working. Should I be keeping the weight low enough to feel my glutes? say 2 sets focus on glutes 2 sets on quads? I'm just kinda limited for exercises atm.

Cheers dude How come you aren't BB squatting? I don't do hacks anymore (bother my knees more than freeweight squats believe it or not) but I remember when I used to do them that it seemed like I could hit my quads pretty well on those things. You can go pretty deep without the worry of falling forward or backward like with free weights so I would probably say make sure you feel some glute/hammie activation during it as well.

[JJWheyy]

How come you aren't BB squatting? I don't do hacks anymore (bother my knees more than freeweight squats believe it or not) but I remember when I used to do them that it seemed like I could hit my quads pretty well on those things. You can go pretty deep without the worry of falling forward or backward like with free weights so I would probably say make sure you feel some glute/hammie activation during it as well.

Ok might have got it wrong, its the horizontal squat machine :/

I also trashed my lower back a year ago (I pmed you a while ago) I was only at A&E a week ago because they thought I had spinal cord compression. Its been sh!t since then. Its not even where the injury was anymore so I really dunno. Been to 2 physiotherapists, and a chiro. Going to a see an orthopedic and neurologist soon. Still havent had MRI I was strongly discouraged at the time for some reason. Even If I get more or less back to normal, I dont think I want to squat or dead again even though they were my favourite exercises. I was only 3 months into serious training after training a lot of MMA and parkour and stuff, now I cant do anything without my back going into spasm.

[triplewhammy]

Ok might have got it wrong, its the horizontal squat machine :/

I also trashed my lower back a year ago (I pmed you a while ago) I was only at A&E a week ago because they thought I had spinal cord compression. Its been sh!t since then. Its not even where the injury was anymore so I really dunno. Been to 2 physiotherapists, and a chiro. Going to a see an orthopedic and neurologist soon. Still havent had MRI I was strongly discouraged at the time for some reason. Even If I get more or less back to normal, I dont think I want to squat or dead again even though they were my favourite exercises. I was only 3 months into serious training after training a lot of MMA and parkour and stuff, now I cant do anything without my back going into spasm. Oh man I hear you bro. I trashed my lower back several years ago and there is still a dull ache to this day, praise the Lord I can finally do some heavy exercises again though. Give it time and it will probably heal. In the meantime, definitely avoid anything that stresses it but at the same time stay active and get as much blood flow to it as you can. I was prescribed some pain meds for a solid month and believe it or not it actually helped. Not because it simply masked the pain but because it allowed me to work through the pain which kept things loosened up and blood flowing to it to heal it naturally. If you can afford it I would probably get an MRI. In the meantime, make sure your form is 100% and keep your abs tight during the exercises from here on out.

[nads786]

As someone with back injuries as well and back spasms I would encourage you once you feel your ready to do some planks side planks and hip bridges, those really stabilized my core. I'm also very lucky to be able to still do most of the exercises I want even though I was in pain for days after the initial injury.

[JJWheyy]

Oh man I hear you bro. I trashed my lower back several years ago and there is still a dull ache to this day, praise the Lord I can finally do some heavy exercises again though. Give it time and it will probably heal. In the meantime, definitely avoid anything that stresses it but at the same time stay active and get as much blood flow to it as you can. I was prescribed some pain meds for a solid month and believe it or not it actually helped. Not because it simply masked the pain but because it allowed me to work through the pain which kept things loosened up and blood flowing to it to heal it naturally. If you can afford it I would probably get an MRI. In the meantime, make sure your form is 100% and keep your abs tight during the exercises from here on out.

Cheers. Its great motivation to hear from someone whos been down the same route and come out on top. I can live with the aches and pains, but for instance I went on a rowing machine (I usually bike to warm up) and within 10 minutes my back seized. Everyone tells me "ah youve pushed too hard" but I mean any 18 year old should be able to row for 10 mins without a problem. But yeah I get you on the meds/NSAIDS, if it allows you to train it allows to get back mobility and strength. My back when I first did it, I was able to train through but I was unable to get good mind muscle connection on some of my lifts. As a result of the physio however, my posture has improved and my lifts are most of the time awesome. I try to push my core within reason, like using dumbells every so often and I dont injure myself but I obviously feel really weak. Hopefully a return to boxing/MMA will help me a little with my movement. Anyway end of rant lol...this injury has been fukking with my head for a while as I'm sure you know the feeling.

How heavy are you now anyway buddy?

[triplewhammy]

As someone with back injuries as well and back spasms I would encourage you once you feel your ready to do some planks side planks and hip bridges, those really stabilized my core. I'm also very lucky to be able to still do most of the exercises I want even though I was in pain for days after the initial injury.


Cheers. Its great motivation to hear from someone whos been down the same route and come out on top. I can live with the aches and pains, but for instance I went on a rowing machine (I usually bike to warm up) and within 10 minutes my back seized. Everyone tells me "ah youve pushed too hard" but I mean any 18 year old should be able to row for 10 mins without a problem. But yeah I get you on the meds/NSAIDS, if it allows you to train it allows to get back mobility and strength. My back when I first did it, I was able to train through but I was unable to get good mind muscle connection on some of my lifts. As a result of the physio however, my posture has improved and my lifts are most of the time awesome. I try to push my core within reason, like using dumbells every so often and I dont injure myself but I obviously feel really weak. Hopefully a return to boxing/MMA will help me a little with my movement. Anyway end of rant lol...this injury has been fukking with my head for a while as I'm sure you know the feeling.

How heavy are you now anyway buddy? Belt + good form + good warmup + fish oil + glucosamine + cissus + patience = success :cool:

I will do an update probably sometime this weekend. I'm sitting at about 208, doing a slight lean bulk / maintain for the weeks while I'm off stims to help offset the lack of energy.

[triplewhammy]

Hit up Shoulders/Biceps/Calves today. I've noticed as my body is getting used to the lack of stims that my stamina is starting to return in the gym even though my strength and energy aren't so hot. I can tell because the amount of volume I normally do is starting to get back to what it was. The cold that I got as I dropped stims didn't help much either. I managed to squeak out 10 reps on HS Shoulder Press 4pps. Wasn't easy but I grinded it out. Also, the White Blood 2 had my biceps BLOWN UP -- good stuff! Needed the motivation since I'm feelin a bit small these days. I haven't measured my arms in awhile but I don't think it's gonna be good...we shall see.

[lhockey]

feeling small at 208lbs? :eek:

glad things are starting to look better! and your body will definitely go into overdrive when you start hitting stims again :cool:

[triplewhammy]

feeling small at 208lbs? :eek:

glad things are starting to look better! and your body will definitely go into overdrive when you start hitting stims again :cool: Yeah that's what I'm hoping!

[triplewhammy]

UPDATE 3/18/2012

STATS
Weight: 208.0 lbs

TRAINING
CHEST DAY: Chest/Triceps/Calves
BACK DAY 1: Back/Lats/Biceps (Deadlifts)
LEG DAY: Legs (Squats)
SHOULDER DAY: Shoulders/Arms/Hamstrings
BACK DAY 2: Back/Lats/Biceps (Corner Rows)
CARDIO: Treadmill/Stepmill/Elliptical

DIET
Diet is currently fluctuating but is typically around 3000 calories. Protein intake is a steady 250g per day as always. BCAA dosings are 1/2 scoop AMS Body Mortar providing primarily 3.5g Leucine and 15g carbs. Since, I sometimes use Xtend for these BCAA dosings, I don't count the calories in Body Mortar even though several doses does add up.

6:00am Meal 1 (~600 cals)
8:00am BCAAs
10:00am Meal 2 (~600 cals)
12:00pm BCAAs
2:00pm Meal 3 (~600 cals)
3:30pm-5:00pm BCAAs
5:30pm Meal 4 (~600 cals)
6:30pm Meal 5 (~600 cals)
8:30pm BCAAs

SUPPLEMENTATION
Performance:
CL White Blood 2
Genomyx Slin-Sane
True Athlete Kre-Alkalyn
AMS Body Mortar
Scivation Xtend

Support:
USPlabs Super Cissus
Labrada Elasti-Joint
Multivitamin
Fish Oil
Myofusion Probiotic

THOUGHTS
Well I had a great time at the Arnold a couple weeks ago. I got swagged up as always and said hi to a few of the usual favorites, such as da man himself Layne Norton. Heading into the weekend I had dieted down to about 204 lbs for a total of 17 pounds lost. I also finished up my final few days of stimulants that weekend. After that I decided to go stim-free and I've been off all stims for a couple weeks now. The first 4-5 days were brutal but I seem to be hitting my stride now. In lieu of the stims, I've bumped up my calories a bit so I'm essentially "lean-bulking" even though I have no intention of putting on a considerable amount of weight. This is a good way to help offset the energy deficit that I'm currently experiencing with the lack of stims. I'm currently up 4 pounds since dieting but I feel like a bit of that is extra water weight. I don't plan on getting above 210 before beginning my diet again.

So, the plan is to continue staying stim-free for another 2 weeks and then after that I will begin contest prep dieting. At that point I will also begin using stims again but of course I will start out low -- probably 100mg caffeine per day. I need to make sure my tolerance remains very low so that as I get further and further into prep I can notch up the stims as needed to offset the lack of energy and motivation. I am starting contest prep waaay early this year and I imagine I may be "ready" too far in advance of the show I'm planning on, but that is a problem I look forward to having. My goal is to come in with the absolute most ridiculous conditioning I've ever brought to the stage so I want to make sure I have time. This will also allow me to take the approach at a fairly liesurely pace so I have time for cheat days (such as my birthday) and other bumps along the road that inevitably occur.

As far as my supplements go, I am still running White Blood 2 and the pumps seem to be pretty good although I think I prefer White Flood 2 better actually. If I do a bit higher rep range and keep my H2O elevated, WB2 kicks into gear though. It has been a great help for me right now since it is a stim-free product. In a couple weeks I'm not sure what I will be running but I have plenty of options. The Arnold treated me pretty well this year. :cool: :D

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4248613&d=1332109796



Josh

[WoopItsKevin]

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4248613&d=1332109796

Looks like you had quite the time at the Arnold! How'd you manage to snag all that? I went on Friday with a few buddies and ended up with about 5 samples and a pair of Monsta shorts that I bought :-/

[triplewhammy]

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4248613&d=1332109796

Looks like you had quite the time at the Arnold! How'd you manage to snag all that? I went on Friday with a few buddies and ended up with about 5 samples and a pair of Monsta shorts that I bought :-/ That is from 3 full days doing nothing but getting samples by both my wife and myself. :)

[pu12en12g]

Score ! :D

[WoopItsKevin]

ahh man I'm jealous!

[lhockey]

holy supp stash! your plan sounds like a good one, i always admire the month you take off stims every year... I just can't afford the hit in productivity for that month (yes i rely on caffeine for productivity/creativity :o)

[JJWheyy]

horry sheet... crazy stash dude :)

[triplewhammy]

Score ! :D


ahh man I'm jealous!


holy supp stash! your plan sounds like a good one, i always admire the month you take off stims every year... I just can't afford the hit in productivity for that month (yes i rely on caffeine for productivity/creativity :o)


horry sheet... crazy stash dude :)


This was the first year I went all 3 days to the Expo. Yeah, we definitely maximized the experience... :D

[NoFitnessNoLife]

I always use a belt for squatting, but I can never decide with regard to deadlifts! I'm doing mostly romanian deads now, and I just feel like the back isn't hit as hard without the belt, which is the main purpose of doing the lift. Hmm decisions decisions.

In for more thoughts on white blood!

I'm the exact opposite.

Squatting without any problems, but when doing those last reps of heavy deads, I sometimes feels something extra. :p

[NoFitnessNoLife]

UPDATE 3/18/2012



THOUGHTS
Well I had a great time at the Arnold a couple weeks ago. I got swagged up as always and said hi to a few of the usual favorites, such as da man himself Layne Norton. Heading into the weekend I had dieted down to about 204 lbs for a total of 17 pounds lost. I also finished up my final few days of stimulants that weekend. After that I decided to go stim-free and I've been off all stims for a couple weeks now. The first 4-5 days were brutal but I seem to be hitting my stride now. In lieu of the stims, I've bumped up my calories a bit so I'm essentially "lean-bulking" even though I have no intention of putting on a considerable amount of weight. This is a good way to help offset the energy deficit that I'm currently experiencing with the lack of stims. I'm currently up 4 pounds since dieting but I feel like a bit of that is extra water weight. I don't plan on getting above 210 before beginning my diet again.

So, the plan is to continue staying stim-free for another 2 weeks and then after that I will begin contest prep dieting. At that point I will also begin using stims again but of course I will start out low -- probably 100mg caffeine per day. I need to make sure my tolerance remains very low so that as I get further and further into prep I can notch up the stims as needed to offset the lack of energy and motivation. I am starting contest prep waaay early this year and I imagine I may be "ready" too far in advance of the show I'm planning on, but that is a problem I look forward to having. My goal is to come in with the absolute most ridiculous conditioning I've ever brought to the stage so I want to make sure I have time. This will also allow me to take the approach at a fairly liesurely pace so I have time for cheat days (such as my birthday) and other bumps along the road that inevitably occur.

As far as my supplements go, I am still running White Blood 2 and the pumps seem to be pretty good although I think I prefer White Flood 2 better actually. If I do a bit higher rep range and keep my H2O elevated, WB2 kicks into gear though. It has been a great help for me right now since it is a stim-free product. In a couple weeks I'm not sure what I will be running but I have plenty of options. The Arnold treated me pretty well this year. :cool: :D



Josh

Have you tried DS Craze yet? If not, even though you're pretty much complete stim-junkie, I warn you. :D

And ''lean bulking'' for the win, you should feel great. :cool:

[triplewhammy]

Have you tried DS Craze yet? If not, even though you're pretty much complete stim-junkie, I warn you. :D

And ''lean bulking'' for the win, you should feel great. :cool:

No I haven't tried it yet but I definitely want to. I have plenty of other preworkouts to go through now... I do hear that it works very very well though.

The extra calories at least help offset the lack of stims. Not easy getting the energy to move heavy weight that's for sure.

[triplewhammy]

Well I'm still grinding through the stim-free period. Yesterday I hit Back/Lats/Biceps and managed to crank out 15 reps on 6-plate Corner Rows. The last few reps weren't all that quality form though. Grip strength is down a bit.

Today I hit Chest/Triceps/Calves and hit Flat DB Press 120s x 10 and Incline DB Press 100s x 8. These highlight sets were real grinders...not pretty. Just struggling along to keep what strength I can.

[nads786]

what belt do you currently use? I just bought a Valeo (sp?) belt off Amazon.

[coolguydsc21]

I need some help guys. Ive been taking White Flood 2 for about 2 months and it was finally affecting my sleep. Last week I stopped using it and I still cant get a full nights rest. Are there any sleeping supps you recommend? Ive tried melatonin, calms forte and countless calming teas...

[triplewhammy]

what belt do you currently use? I just bought a Valeo (sp?) belt off Amazon. Inzer Lever Belt. Best belt I've ever used, won't ever use anything else. www.inzernet.com


I need some help guys. Ive been taking White Flood 2 for about 2 months and it was finally affecting my sleep. Last week I stopped using it and I still cant get a full nights rest. Are there any sleeping supps you recommend? Ive tried melatonin, calms forte and countless calming teas... I haven't noticed anything about it affecting sleep. Are you taking in any stimulants at all during the day? If so, stopping all stims is obviously the first step you need to take. It's not easy, but it's worth it.

[lhockey]

have you lost a lot of MMC while off stims? i find that's one of the primary benefits, above and beyond simple energy given by pre w/o products. keep chugging along!

[triplewhammy]

have you lost a lot of MMC while off stims? i find that's one of the primary benefits, above and beyond simple energy given by pre w/o products. keep chugging along! I honestly can't tell. It's really weird, in some ways it's almost like I have BETTER MMC because I can tell how "heavy" the weight feels. My strength is pretty well near the same but the weight just feels...weird.

[triplewhammy]

I'm not gonna lie...I'm still pretty much exhausted all the time and my drive and motivation to hit the gym is quite low. Yawning on my drive in doesn't help either. Yet, I keep going and actually my strength is holding steady. 1 more week to go and I'll be back up on something. I'm really hoping 100mg of caffeine gives me a decent boost or else I will be pretty disappointed.

Anyway, yesterday I hit up Legs and it was actually a great workout. I am experiencing my 5th cold of the season (congestion, sore throat, general achiness), so on top of the lack of stims I am pretty proud of what I squeaked out. My energy is shot, yet once I actually get into my workout I seem to do ok. Again, it seems like my body's natural stamina has rebounded sooner than my body's natural energy production.

Squats:
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 10

3 sets Glute-Ham Raises
3 sets Lying Leg Curl
3 sets Machine Squat Press
3 sets Seated Leg Extension

[lhockey]

man that sounds rough with the cold and no stims :(. how much have you been sleeping? you cranked out a solid leg session with good volume!

[triplewhammy]

Well last Saturday I hit up Shoulders/Triceps/Calves and I worked out around 11am which is really early for someone who doesn't use stims. Managed to still hit 10 reps on HS Shoulder Press at 4pps. Strength has definitely leveled off which is a good thing. After that, I was planning on training Sunday or Monday but other things got in the way so I didn't lift again until yesterday (Tuesday). I normally don't like going 2 days straight without working out because for whatever reason it seems like a lose a bit of mind-muscle connection when I return, the weights just end up feeling a bit foreign. Anyway, I hit up Back/Biceps/Lats and had an ok workout. For Corner Rows I squeaked out 6p x 15 but the final few reps were a bit sloppy. Lat and Bicep strength was great though, and the pump was phenomenal. My biceps are actually pretty tight and achey today which doesn't always happen so that is a nice touch to know that I hit them hard. :cool:

[Reid456]

I don't understand why this log has so much talk about "stims". It's like almost implied that you need them to perform well in the gym. Sure, I'll have a caffeine pill every now and again but it's not something that is going to drastically alter my workout. I just don't understand the huge focus on it. It really should barely be an afterthought, imo. Sorry, it's just kind of getting on my nerves because it seems like it's all I ever read in here.

[triplewhammy]

I don't understand why this log has so much talk about "stims". It's like almost implied that you need them to perform well in the gym. Sure, I'll have a caffeine pill every now and again but it's not something that is going to drastically alter my workout. I just don't understand the huge focus on it. It really should barely be an afterthought, imo. Sorry, it's just kind of getting on my nerves because it seems like it's all I ever read in here. Haha I hear you bro. Really if you look at my lifts, my strength is actually still SOLID without stims. It's mainly the lack of drive/energy getting TO the gym that is the worst part! Seeing as how a LARGE majority of Americans use caffeine every day (and for nothing other than sitting in a cubicle), I don't think there's anything wrong with discussing it...especially since few of them have probably ever gone 4 weeks straight without it!

[Reid456]

Oh I have no doubts about your strength OR your natural endurance/drive. It just comes across to me that you are limiting yourself by using lack of stims as an excuse of sorts. We all have our scapegoats, I suppose. There's surely nothing wrong with discussing it. It is quite crazy how widely used caffeine is. I never drank coffee or took anything caffeine related until high school and even then it was only sparingly as a supplement to help during track meets. I think I might just be pretty tolerant to its effects because I don't noticed huge changes, except when one time I took 3 pills (600mg). I think nothing can quite replace a solid sleep schedule and diet.

[lhockey]

Oh I have no doubts about your strength OR your natural endurance/drive. It just comes across to me that you are limiting yourself by using lack of stims as an excuse of sorts. We all have our scapegoats, I suppose. There's surely nothing wrong with discussing it. It is quite crazy how widely used caffeine is. I never drank coffee or took anything caffeine related until high school and even then it was only sparingly as a supplement to help during track meets. I think I might just be pretty tolerant to its effects because I don't noticed huge changes, except when one time I took 3 pills (600mg). I think nothing can quite replace a solid sleep schedule and diet.

x2, caffeine actually doesn't really effect me UNLESS my sleep is on point. funny how that works... that said i understand/support the use of stims before lifting! if something can improve how you feel and perform in the gym, why not go for it? josh just happens to do a pretty extreme approach of going from a slowly ramping (and ultimately very heavy) stim use to 0 stims cold turkey.

after college and with a job/family, i can definitely see a lack of sleep and other life stressed getting in the way of a good MMC and general drive in the gym... as long as you're responsible, caffeine/other stimulants can really help you get the most out of life and your body. just my 2 cents

[nads786]

I really only take caffeine once ni the morniing if I'm feeling tired and once before working out, on my non workout days I don't take any and weekends none. Seems to work for me.

[swimmer32]

Have you tried DS Craze yet? If not, even though you're pretty much complete stim-junkie, I warn you. :D



I switch up between Jacked and Craze - love them both. I've been really impressed with Craze - except for the taste, which is hard for me to choke down.



I don't understand why this log has so much talk about "stims". It's like almost implied that you need them to perform well in the gym. Sure, I'll have a caffeine pill every now and again but it's not something that is going to drastically alter my workout. I just don't understand the huge focus on it. It really should barely be an afterthought, imo. Sorry, it's just kind of getting on my nerves because it seems like it's all I ever read in here.

All I could think - Age: 21. Man - those were the days! Wait until you're closer to 30, working a full time job, with a wife and young kids to chase after. I don't see any of Josh's comments as making excuses - it's just reality. I work out Saturday and Sunday mornings so I can get the workout in before the family wakes up. Taking a few weeks off stims makes those workouts brutal.

[Reid456]

I just think that there's a point where your body gets so used to stims that you feel like absolute crap without them and just "normal" with them when you could just feel "normal" all the time if you didn't take them as often. Essentially, having caffeine or whatever else in your system becomes baseline.

[swimmer32]

I just think that there's a point where your body gets so used to stims that you feel like absolute crap without them and just "normal" with them when you could just feel "normal" all the time if you didn't take them as often. Essentially, having caffeine or whatever else in your system becomes baseline.

At least for me, as I've gotten older, the "normal" is being tired. :)

[triplewhammy]

Oh I have no doubts about your strength OR your natural endurance/drive. It just comes across to me that you are limiting yourself by using lack of stims as an excuse of sorts. We all have our scapegoats, I suppose. There's surely nothing wrong with discussing it. It is quite crazy how widely used caffeine is. I never drank coffee or took anything caffeine related until high school and even then it was only sparingly as a supplement to help during track meets. I think I might just be pretty tolerant to its effects because I don't noticed huge changes, except when one time I took 3 pills (600mg). I think nothing can quite replace a solid sleep schedule and diet.

Yeah, not trying to make it come across as an excuse although it probably sounds like it. I just discuss potential obstacles to my workout, such as getting sick or not getting enough sleep.


x2, caffeine actually doesn't really effect me UNLESS my sleep is on point. funny how that works... that said i understand/support the use of stims before lifting! if something can improve how you feel and perform in the gym, why not go for it? josh just happens to do a pretty extreme approach of going from a slowly ramping (and ultimately very heavy) stim use to 0 stims cold turkey.

after college and with a job/family, i can definitely see a lack of sleep and other life stressed getting in the way of a good MMC and general drive in the gym... as long as you're responsible, caffeine/other stimulants can really help you get the most out of life and your body. just my 2 cents

I agree I need good sleep to really have stims feel "good" when I lift. But yeah as far as stims go, it's obvious why people discuss and use them, they are a legitimate performance enhancer! It's not like we are all getting addicted to a substance just for funsies LOL! Yeah it definitely requires more coordinated effort to stay consistent. I work full time, have a wife, 2 yr old son, and another one on the way. It's funny when I think back about how pathetic my workouts actually were when I had MORE time. I think the constraints in life make you put more of a focused effort in the gym because your time is valuable and you can't afford to have a lackluster workout.


I really only take caffeine once ni the morniing if I'm feeling tired and once before working out, on my non workout days I don't take any and weekends none. Seems to work for me.

That is a great idea and that's part of my ramping up approach. I won't take any stims on non-workout days. That is a great way to keep the tolerance down.


I switch up between Jacked and Craze - love them both. I've been really impressed with Craze - except for the taste, which is hard for me to choke down.




All I could think - Age: 21. Man - those were the days! Wait until you're closer to 30, working a full time job, with a wife and young kids to chase after. I don't see any of Josh's comments as making excuses - it's just reality. I work out Saturday and Sunday mornings so I can get the workout in before the family wakes up. Taking a few weeks off stims makes those workouts brutal.

I haven't tried Craze yet but it sounds fantastic from all the feedback.

Who knows, maybe mentally I have been making excuses but physically I feel like I'm still bringing it as best as I can in the gym -- my lifts are pretty well stabilized.


I just think that there's a point where your body gets so used to stims that you feel like absolute crap without them and just "normal" with them when you could just feel "normal" all the time if you didn't take them as often. Essentially, having caffeine or whatever else in your system becomes baseline.

You are right, and that is usually my flag to know it's time for a break. A couple months ago, 300mg + 50mg DMAA was just feeling "normal."


At least for me, as I've gotten older, the "normal" is being tired. :) Haha yeah I can understand this too.

[triplewhammy]

Well the 4-week stim break is OVER. I wanted to get back on caffeine tonight rather than during the week in case it affected my sleep more than I wanted. I rocked 100mg caffeine today in the form of EAS Phos-Force for my Chest/Tricep/Calf workout. This product has 100mg caffeine, 5g creatine, 30+ carbs, and a few other minor additions. I ended up taking half a serving with my preworkout meal and then the other half about 30 minutes preworkout. The reason I did this is so that I could re-introduce caffeine by "diluting" it a bit with a meal rather than letting it hit me on an empty stomach. Also, I used Slin-Sane with my preworkout meal so I figured these carbs would be better utilized alongside that product. The second half I took actually made me feel a bit "blah" in the gym though, from what I can tell. I really do not like consuming carbs near or during my workout, just leaves my stomach kind of bloated feeling. So in the future I will probably just take the full dose with my preworkout meal even though that is 1-5 hours preworkout. Either way, the energy was pretty decent at such a low caffeine amount and I could tell I warmed up and started sweating a LOT quicker. The nice thing is that this dose was enough to give me a slight boost but not so much that I felt tweaked out to the point it will interfere with sleep. So I will rock this amount for as long as it is effective, probably a good month or two.

I also noticed that I prefer to give White Blood 2 a solid 45 minutes or more to get working into my system. Today I forgot to take it at the correct time so I popped the 3 pills immediately preworkout and I noticed the pump didn't start to fill out as well as normal until late in my workout. Towards the end though, I got some great density in my triceps especially with the 12-15 rep sets.

2 sets Machine Chest Press (warmup)

Bench:
135 x 12
185 x 10
225 x 15
275 x 3
315 x 2(.5)

6 sets Straight Bar Pressdown
2 sets Machine Skull Crusher
3 sets 1-Arm Pressdown
3 sets Reverse Grip E-Z Bar Pressdown
3 sets Incline Machine Chest Press
8 sets various Calf Exercises


Feeling good! :cool:

[triplewhammy]

Hit up Legs today. Was pretty solid, nothing spectacular but just a good clean workout. Took the full serving of EAS Phos-Force with my preworkout meal and I still really really dislike that much dextrose preworkout, it makes me feel completely blah, like a total sugar bomb...cannot imagine drinking it intraworkout. I've had other carb drinks during my workout and I'm not a fan. Gotta figure out what to do from here...may jump ship and switch to a different preworkout.

Back Squats:
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 11

Front Squats:
135 x 10
155 x 10
175 x 10

3 sets Seated Leg Extension
6 sets Seated Leg Curl

[swimmer32]

Congrats on surviving stim-less! What are some of your favorite pre-workout drinks?

[NoFitnessNoLife]

I switch up between Jacked and Craze - love them both. I've been really impressed with Craze - except for the taste, which is hard for me to choke down.
Use more water.

I agree it tastes like crap when you use the ''normal'' little amount of water. try to double that, it actually doesn't taste that bad. And the effect is same.

[triplewhammy]

Congrats on surviving stim-less! What are some of your favorite pre-workout drinks? One that comes to mind that I really enjoy the pumps, energy, taste, and ingredients is Nutrex Hemo-Rage. A few months down the road I will be using that regularly :cool:

[triplewhammy]

UPDATE 4/2/2012


http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4303343&d=1333392605


STATS
Weight: 209.8 lbs
Bodyfat: 17%?
L Arm: 18''
R Arm: 17.75''

TRAINING
CHEST DAY: Chest/Triceps/Calves (Primary Exercise: Bench)
BACK DAY: Back/Lats/Biceps (Primary Exercise: Hex Deadlift or Corner Row)
LEG DAY: Legs (Primary Exercise: Squats)
SHOULDER DAY: Shoulders/Arms/Hamstrings (Primary Exercise: HS Shoulder Press)
CARDIO: Treadmill/Stepmill/Elliptical

DIET
Diet is locked in at 3000 calories right now. Protein intake is a steady 250g per day as always. BCAA dosings are 1/2 scoop AMS Body Mortar providing primarily 3.5g Leucine and 15g carbs. Since, I sometimes use Xtend for these BCAA dosings, I don't count the calories in Body Mortar even though several doses does add up.

Due to my work schedule, I have been dropping my mid-morning meal. Thus, my second meal of the day is later in the day and also serves as my pre-workout meal. Taking a GDA (Glucose Disposal Agent) like Genomyx Slin-Sane actually keeps my blood sugar levels stable for hours, so when it's time to work out I still have plenty of energy and don't feel light-headed or any other symptoms commonly associated with eating so far in advance of a workout. Some days I can afford to squeeze in the mid-morning meal, but it is not always the case right now:

7:00am Meal 1 (~800 cals)
10:00am BCAAs
12:30pm Meal 2 (~1000 cals)
3:30pm-5:00pm BCAAs
5:30pm Meal 3 (~500 cals)
7:00pm Meal 4 (~700 cals)
9:00pm BCAAs

On days that I don't work out, I actually only eat 3 times now:
7:00am Meal 1 (~1000 cals)
9:30am BCAAs
12:00pm Meal 2 (~1000 cals)
3:00pm BCAAs
6:00pm Meal 3 (~1000 cals)
8:30pm BCAAs

As you can see, BCAAs truly shine in giving me the flexibility to accomodate my eating to my life, and not the other way around, in addition to the incredible fact that it increases Muscle Protein Synthesis. For those that don't know why I dose this way, look over this slideshow presentation by Layne Norton: http://www.slideshare.net/biolayne/optimal-protein-intake-and-meal-frequency-to-support-maximal-protein-synthesis-and-muscle-mass


SUPPLEMENTATION
Performance:
CL White Blood 2
Genomyx Slin-Sane
True Athlete Kre-Alkalyn
AMS Body Mortar
Scivation Xtend
various preworkouts
various fatburners
Nutrex Mass XXXplosion

Support:
Prolab Gold Cuts II
GN Anavite
USPlabs Super Cissus
Labrada Elasti-Joint
Multivitamin
Fish Oil
GN Myofusion Probiotic


With a stack like this, you are probably wondering how I will dose all of this. Here is the breakdown, using a typical workout day as an example:
7:00am 1 Super Cissus, 1 Anavite, 1 Gold Cuts II, with Meal 1
10:00am 1/2 scoop Body Mortar, as my BCAAs
12:00pm 1 Genomyx Slin-Sane
12:30pm 1 Super Cissus, 1 Anavite, 1 Gold Cuts II, with Meal 2
2:00pm 1 serving Elasti-Joint
3:00pm 3 White Blood 2, 1 Super Cissus, 1 various preworkout
3:30pm-5:00pm Xtend, as my BCAAs
5:30pm 2 scoops Myofusion, 1 serving Mass XXXplosion, as Meal 3
7:00pm 1 Super Cissus, 1 Anavite, 1 Gold Cuts II, 2-3 fish oil with Meal 4
9:00pm 1/2 scoop Body Mortar, as my BCAAs

On cardio days, I would use a fatburner instead of a preworkout and I would also drop the White Blood 2. On non-workout days, I would drop the Slin-Sane, drop the post-workout shake, drop the White Blood 2, and add 2-3 scoops Kre-Alkalyn to one of my BCAA dosings (to get my daily creatine in).


THOUGHTS
Alright the time has come to begin contest prep! Is it way too early? Is it a bit premature? Is it ridiculous? YES! We are officially 33 weeks out at this point. I am starting this early because like I've stated in the past, I have to have glute striations for this competition, no excuse. I like to lose 1-2 pounds per week and right now I figure I am more than 33 pounds away from stage weight but less than 66 pounds away. So, if I start now this should allow me to fit right in a perfect weight-loss groove. Not to mention, I will have time for cheat days such as holidays, birthdays, etc and not worry about them interfering with my progress too much. The past few months I managed to diet down and then lean bulk back up but right now I am still 11 pounds lighter than I was at the end of last year. On top of that, my adrenals are refreshed and my metabolism is sky-high. So, I feel like I am set up for success here.

I will go into more detail as to my approach later on, but right now not a whole lot has changed yet. Still eating 3000 cals and just doing a day of cardio. But cheat meals will be essentially eliminated which should give me some good fat loss right off the start. To start off with though, I will finish discussing my stim-intake since that has been a hot topic as of late. Now that I have refreshed my adrenal glands with the 4-week break, I am ready to begin ramping up. This will cover the entire duration of my contest prep so it's critical to make sure I don't ramp up too early. For those that have competed before, you know the final month or so is pretty much just walking around like a zombie so stimulants become, dare I say, virtually a necessity to get in the intense workouts. Based on a 12-month cycle, my preworkout stim intake looks *roughly* something like this:

Month 1: Stim-free (reset)
Month 2: 100mg caffeine
Month 3: 150mg caffeine
Month 4: 200mg caffeine
Month 5: 100mg caffeine, 15mg DMAA
Month 6: 150mg caffeine, 15mg DMAA
Month 7: 200mg caffeine, 15mg DMAA
Month 8: 150mg caffeine, 30mg DMAA
Month 9: 200mg caffiene, 30mg DMAA
Month 10: 250mg caffeine, 30mg DMAA
Month 11: 300mg caffeine, 30mg DMAA
Month 12: 300mg caffeine, 45mg DMAA

Granted, there are many things that can affect this, but this is what I would consider the "standard" that I try to meet. Various things can affect any given day such as whether or not you are dieting, how good/bad your sleep generally is, etc. Additionally, if you make sure to avoid caffeine at other times of the day and on non-workout days, that could lengthen the duration of various points in the ramping up process so that you can maintain the same amount longer.

Anyway, we are now 33 weeks out and it is GAME TIME! You ready? You READY?! YOU READY?! LET'S ROLL.


Josh

[swimmer32]

I wondered if/when you were going to post the above picture. The first thought that popped into my head when I saw it is that it answered the age old question "Where's the beef"! haha Looking huge Josh!

[Reid456]

If you're not careful your son is going to get bigger than you before you know it! 33 week prep sounds crazy. Sounds even crazier when you say that it's almost 65% of one year.

What organizations have you competed in? I'm trying to pick out my first show sometime around Fall 2012 but I don't know what would work best for me.

[triplewhammy]

I wondered if/when you were going to post the above picture. The first thought that popped into my head when I saw it is that it answered the age old question "Where's the beef"! haha Looking huge Josh! I also took some "before" video footage that will make it into an episode at the end of the year...should be quite interesting LOL


If you're not careful your son is going to get bigger than you before you know it! 33 week prep sounds crazy. Sounds even crazier when you say that it's almost 65% of one year.

What organizations have you competed in? I'm trying to pick out my first show sometime around Fall 2012 but I don't know what would work best for me. I've only done OCB. Between the WNBF and the IFPA, I believe that the IFPA is the best organization and treats its Pros the best. So, my hope is to win an OCB Pro Qualifier and join the ranks. I also like the guidelines and the competition that shows up, I'd never want to enter a show coming in soft or flat and win only because the competition was even worse. This organization is ridiculously more competitive than when I first began competing 6 years ago...highly recommended.

[NoFitnessNoLife]

33 weeks isn't actually that crazy time for a prep like some ppl thinks. If you really want to win the show, then start early! ;) and honestly you don't want to look sucked up and misarable, you want to feel good and full!
Good luck Josh, I'll be watching. :)

[triplewhammy]

33 weeks isn't actually that crazy time for a prep like some ppl thinks. If you really want to win the show, then start early! ;) and honestly you don't want to look sucked up and misarable, you want to feel good and full!
Good luck Josh, I'll be watching. :) I dunno man, I thought 20 weeks was a lot! But, should be good times :cool:

[lhockey]

with 33 weeks to prep, if you start feeling absolutely miserable at some point, you can always take a couple weeks to maintain and "reset" your metabolism/energy. everything is looking really solid josh! in for the continued journey :Cool:

how many carbs are you taking in pre w/o to make you feel tired?

[triplewhammy]

with 33 weeks to prep, if you start feeling absolutely miserable at some point, you can always take a couple weeks to maintain and "reset" your metabolism/energy. everything is looking really solid josh! in for the continued journey :Cool:

how many carbs are you taking in pre w/o to make you feel tired? Yeah exactly, this should give me some time to adjust things as needed.

What do you mean by make me feel tired? Lately, my preworkout meal has been a burrito bowl from Chipotle: brown rice, black beans, double chicken, hot sauce, a little cheese, add guacamole. :cool:

[triplewhammy]

Well, Monday I hit up Shoulders/Biceps/Hamstrings. WHY I hit my hammies I really don't know. My legs were still really tight from Saturday's Leg Workout and I was hobbling around but I figured eh why not. Ended up having pretty good strength on Seated Leg Curl but for the first few sets my hamstrings hurt just sitting down on the machine! I pyramided up and repped the stack for 8 reps so there was still good strength despite the excrutiating pain. On HS Shoulder Press I still hit 10 reps at 4pps but it is not getting any easier. I've noticed that 100mg caffeine is giving me a bit more focus and energy but not so much that it is changing my strength. I suppose I consider that a good thing. I've also noticed that I'm sweating a TON more with just that small amount of caffeine in me. That is a bonus as far as getting warmed up is concerned.

Yesterday I did some cardio and just kept it simple: 15 minutes Elliptical, 10 minutes Bike, 15 minutes Stepmill. Again, tons of sweat pouring out and I was pretty tired out. The nice thing so far is that 100mg caffeine gets me a bit perky but doesn't keep me up at night, so I know I'm sitting at the proper dose.

[lhockey]

Yeah exactly, this should give me some time to adjust things as needed.

What do you mean by make me feel tired? Lately, my preworkout meal has been a burrito bowl from Chipotle: brown rice, black beans, double chicken, hot sauce, a little cheese, add guacamole. :cool:

ohh never mind, i see you said dextrose and not carbs in general. chipotle is always a solid pre w/o :D

lol at hititng hamstrings with shoulder/biceps... repping the stack seems like it went pretty well!

[nads786]

stacking the leg curl machine? sick... Do you use any other compound shoulder exercises besides hammer strength?

[triplewhammy]

ohh never mind, i see you said dextrose and not carbs in general. chipotle is always a solid pre w/o :D

lol at hititng hamstrings with shoulder/biceps... repping the stack seems like it went pretty well! Yeah it's the 30g of dextrose in EAS Phos-Force that makes me feel like junk...


stacking the leg curl machine? sick... Do you use any other compound shoulder exercises besides hammer strength? Haha... no I don't do any other compound exercises for shoulders other than that one. Don't like the stress of barbell and I've had bad experiences with dumbbells in the past. You know, as in having one fall behind me while doing seated presses and pulling my arm backwards causing years of shoulder pain...lol!

[triplewhammy]

I'M BAAAAACK!!! (cheesy pun intended). Hit up Back/Lats/Biceps and had a great workout today. Preworkout I took a half serving of NO-Xplode 2.0. I swapped out the EAS Phos-Force because all the sugar was messing me up. My plan is once I bump up to 150mg caffiene next month, I will go with a half serving of a typical preworkout (like NO-Xplode 2.0) but also add a half serving of Phos-Force. This will notch up my caffeine but keep the dextrose hit much lower. Arms had a fantastic pump from White Blood 2 on the 6-plate Corner Row which was before I even began my bicep lifts...good stuff.

Corner Rows:
1p x 10
2p x 10
3p x 8
4p x 8
5p x 8
6p x 18

HS Iso Row:
1pps x 10
2pps x 10
3pps x 8
4pps x 8

Lat Pulldown:
90 x 12
110 x 10
130 x 8
150 x 8
170 x 8
190 x 8
160 x 12
130 x 15

Shrugs:
45s x 15
45s x 15
60s x 10
75s x 10
90s x 10
110s x 10

Standing BB Curl:
60 x 10
75 x 10
90 x 8
105 x 8

Hammer Curl:
30s x 8
35s x 8

1-Arm Machine Curl:
80 x 10
95 x 10
110 x 8
125 x 8
140 x 6
80 x 8

[triplewhammy]

Back on my grind, YEAH BUDDY! Hit up Chest/Triceps/Calves today at Gold's. Highlights included Flat DB Press 120s x 11, Incline DB Press 100s x 8, and Straight Bar Pressdowns STACK x 25. Good stuff!

Thing is, that's not what makes Good Friday so good though. Today we celebrate the greatest sacrifice ever made: Jesus Christ, who lived the perfect life we have not, willingly died on a cross and took the punishment of God's wrath against sin so that those who repent and put their trust in Him can be saved from rightfully earned punishment in Hell and instead live eternally with God.

[nads786]

I hear you on the shoulder injuries with Dbs, one wrong move and good bye sweet shoulder joint. Any reason your doing such high reps for Corner rows? And btw I finally gave a belt a shot wow the stability it gives is amazing, I'm finally able to corner row significant weight without messing with my lower back should of bought it years ago!

[triplewhammy]

I hear you on the shoulder injuries with Dbs, one wrong move and good bye sweet shoulder joint. Any reason your doing such high reps for Corner rows? And btw I finally gave a belt a shot wow the stability it gives is amazing, I'm finally able to corner row significant weight without messing with my lower back should of bought it years ago! As with all my primary movements, I like to achieve 15 reps of my heaviest weight consistently before moving up in working sets. Just so happened I got 18 this time :cool: If I consistently hit 15+ then I will bump up again to 7 plates. Glad to hear you are using a belt, your lower back is especially compromised in this exercise if you go heavy without one.

[lhockey]

andd the high weights/killer sessions are BACK! looks like you're about ready for 7PPS on corner rows :cool:

120'sx11 is also insane man! your bench is off the charts... I forget if I asked you this before, but how low do you go on DB bench? I'd love to see a video of your DB benching at some point :D

[triplewhammy]

andd the high weights/killer sessions are BACK! looks like you're about ready for 7PPS on corner rows :cool:

120'sx11 is also insane man! your bench is off the charts... I forget if I asked you this before, but how low do you go on DB bench? I'd love to see a video of your DB benching at some point :D Yeah I need to get some good DB Bench footage. I go until the edge of the DBs touch my chest. Admittedly, it's not as low as a bench press bar since I also touch my chest with a bar too, which ends up being much lower. But on the other hand it is as low as I can get with DBs, plus the 1-handed element makes the lift more difficult.

Currently fighting another cold (yeah I know, I need to stop taking my son to Chuck E Cheese LOL...seriously) but the strength seems to be going up a notch which is nice to see.

[triplewhammy]

Not gonna lie...had a pretty rough Leg workout today. The cold is still affecting me apparently. Was feeling a bit dizzy, bloated, light-headed, etc. My head was so pressurized that I couldn't hear the low frequencies of my Ipod music. I couldn't get it to go away by yawning either (i.e. the typical technique when flying). Anyway, the workout wasn't great and I was glad when it was over.

Squats:
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 10
365 x 4

6 sets Lying Leg Curls
3 sets Seated Leg Extension


Meh. Not bad but not good.

[lhockey]

REALLY solid workout considering how sick you felt. Get some rest man! Don't want you to run yourself into the ground :(

I do the same with DB benching btw... go as low as I can without having to put the DBs way out to the side (so the side touches my chest). Seems to work well!

[triplewhammy]

REALLY solid workout considering how sick you felt. Get some rest man! Don't want you to run yourself into the ground :(

I do the same with DB benching btw... go as low as I can without having to put the DBs way out to the side (so the side touches my chest). Seems to work well! Every rep is a blessing that is for sure. I still remember the days when I couldn't squat my bodyweight due to joint pain...

[triplewhammy]

Boy, still hurtin.... only managed to get 9 reps on HS Shoulder Press 4pps... normally that's my final set of that exercise but in light of the poor performance I dropped back down and did 2pps x 15. Had a great pump in my Triceps courtesy of White Blood 2, especially towards the end as I increased my rep range (actually finished off with a lighter weight final set of 30 reps!). Just trying to grind it out, hoping this cold will end soon...

[swimmer32]

Thing is, that's not what makes Good Friday so good though. Today we celebrate the greatest sacrifice ever made: Jesus Christ, who lived the perfect life we have not, willingly died on a cross and took the punishment of God's wrath against sin so that those who repent and put their trust in Him can be saved from rightfully earned punishment in Hell and instead live eternally with God.

"It is God who arms me with STRENGTH and makes my way perfect." - Psalm 18:32

Another workout, another day of building His temple.

[triplewhammy]

Pretty decent Back/Biceps/Lats day today. The cold is finishing up, sinuses are draining and head is still pressurized but overall a bit better. Pretty fatigued and my stamina has taken a hit but I was ok with this workout. Was a bit rushed so I couldn't put in as much volume as I would have liked to but that's alright...

Hex Bar Deads:
135 x 12
225 x 10
315 x 8
405 x 15

Lat Pulldown:
90 x 10
110 x 10
130 x 8
150 x 8
170 x 8
190 x 8

Straight Bar Curl:
55 x 10
70 x 10
85 x 10
100 x 10

HS Iso Row:
1pps x 10
2pps x 10
3pps x 12

3 sets Shrugs
5 sets 1-Arm Machine Curl

[triplewhammy]

"It is God who arms me with STRENGTH and makes my way perfect." - Psalm 18:32

Another workout, another day of building His temple. Every rep is a blessing.

[triplewhammy]

Hit up Chest/Triceps/Calves today and it was actually pretty good! Joints felt great and my energy was solid on just a half serving of NO-Xplode 2.0. Also took 3 caps MRI NO2 Red and had a solid pump from that. Pretty pleased with today's workout.

Flat DB Press:
70s x 12
90s x 10
110s x 8
120s x 10

Incline DB Press:
70s x 8
85s x 8
100s x 8

6 sets Straight Bar Pressdown
3 sets Machine Skull Crusher
3 sets 1-Arm Pressdown
4 sets Machine Seated Calf Press
3 sets Machine Seated Calf Raise

[triplewhammy]

UPDATE 4/15/2012

STATS
Weight: 207.2 lbs

TRAINING
CHEST DAY: Chest/Triceps/Calves (Primary Exercise: Bench)
BACK DAY: Back/Lats/Biceps (Primary Exercise: Hex Deadlift or Corner Row)
LEG DAY: Legs (Primary Exercise: Squats)
SHOULDER DAY: Shoulders/Arms/Hamstrings (Primary Exercise: HS Shoulder Press)
CARDIO: Treadmill/Stepmill/Elliptical

DIET
Diet is locked in at 3000 calories right now. Protein intake is a steady 250g per day as always. BCAA dosings are 1/2 scoop AMS Body Mortar providing primarily 3.5g Leucine and 15g carbs. Since I sometimes use Xtend for these BCAA dosings, I don't count the calories in Body Mortar even though several doses does add up.

Due to my work schedule, I have been dropping my mid-morning meal. Thus, my second meal of the day is later in the day and also serves as my pre-workout meal. Taking a GDA (Glucose Disposal Agent) like Genomyx Slin-Sane actually keeps my blood sugar levels stable for hours, so when it's time to work out I still have plenty of energy and don't feel light-headed or any other symptoms commonly associated with low blood sugar. Some days I can afford to squeeze in the mid-morning meal, but it is not always the case right now:

7:00am Meal 1 (~800 cals)
10:00am BCAAs
12:30pm Meal 2 (~1000 cals)
3:30pm-5:00pm BCAAs
5:30pm Meal 3 (~500 cals)
7:00pm Meal 4 (~700 cals)
9:00pm BCAAs

On days that I don't work out, I actually only eat 3 times now:
7:00am Meal 1 (~1000 cals)
9:30am BCAAs
12:00pm Meal 2 (~1000 cals)
3:00pm BCAAs
6:00pm Meal 3 (~1000 cals)
8:30pm BCAAs

As you can see, BCAAs truly shine in giving me the flexibility to accomodate my eating to my life, and not the other way around, in addition to the incredible fact that it increases Muscle Protein Synthesis. For those that don't know why I dose this way, look over this slideshow presentation by Layne Norton: http://www.slideshare.net/biolayne/optimal-protein-intake-and-meal-frequency-to-support-maximal-protein-synthesis-and-muscle-mass


SUPPLEMENTATION
Performance:
MRI NO2 Red
Genomyx Slin-Sane
True Athlete Kre-Alkalyn
AMS Body Mortar
BPI Blox
various preworkouts
various fatburners
Nutrex Mass XXplosion

Support:
Prolab Cuts II Gold
Primaforce Cissus
NOW Glucosamine
multivitamine
fish oil
protein powder

I am currently using 100mg caffeine on workout days only. Thus, on lifting days I will take a various half-serving of a preworkout supplement. On cardio days I will take a fatburner pill of some type, again no more than 100mg caffeine.

THOUGHTS
Lost about 2.6 pounds in the past two weeks. At this weight, I would actually prefer a solid 2 lb/week fat loss rate since 2 pounds is a smaller percentage of my bodyweight, and then closer to a 1 lb/week fat loss rate when I'm down in the 170-180 range. But, it is what it is and my strength is solid and I most likely lost a greater percentage of fat this way so it's all good. It's still within the 1-2 lb/week range so I can't complain!

Somehow a couple weekends ago I picked up yet ANOTHER cold at Chuck E Cheese so I've spent this time trying to keep grinding it out but it has definitely affected me. I'm on the rise again though so things should be picking up steam. Monday I took the day off, which was supposed to be my cardio day, so the fact that I lost any weight at all is good.

Also, stims seem to be hitting me pretty well so far. Just 100mg gets me up and at 'em for working out and on a few occassions it has actually kept me up at night later than I would've liked!

As far as my dieting principles go, this is how I do it: Eat as much as you can, lift as heavy as you can, and do as little cardio as you can, for as long as you can, while still losing 1-2 pounds per week. This is probably not advice that you will typically hear from people, so I will go into more detail and develop each point further in the coming weeks...


Josh

[WoopItsKevin]

Great update Josh and awesome training sessions, I can't imagine hitting 6 plate corner rows let alone for 18 reps!

Digging your diet principles too, looking forward to hearing you go into more detail with it

[nads786]

Do you supplement with Vitamin D? It seems to have really helped me prevent getting sick this year.

[triplewhammy]

Great update Josh and awesome training sessions, I can't imagine hitting 6 plate corner rows let alone for 18 reps!

Digging your diet principles too, looking forward to hearing you go into more detail with it Right on, yeah I will dig into more of the thought process soon!


Do you supplement with Vitamin D? It seems to have really helped me prevent getting sick this year. Not specifically no, although there is probably a decent amount in my multivitamin. I would love to supplement more with it, but the budget won't allow it at the moment I'm afraid...

[nads786]

It's acutally really cheap only about 3-8 bucks for a bottle that will last you 180 days!

http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-Vitamin-5000-120-Softgels/dp/B002EA99HE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334537870&sr=8-2

this is the 5000mg you can also get the 1000mg for about 5 bucks!

[lhockey]

It's acutally really cheap only about 3-8 bucks for a bottle that will last you 180 days!

http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-Vitamin-5000-120-Softgels/dp/B002EA99HE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334537870&sr=8-2

this is the 5000mg you can also get the 1000mg for about 5 bucks!

Love NOW foods for basic supps... maybe i'll pick some D up! Their super EPA fish oil is the shyt.

Great workouts Josh! The H/S shoulder press sounds frustrating, but hex deads picked up the pace, and you really crushed benching. Looking forward to your log as you get shredded :cool:

[triplewhammy]

It's acutally really cheap only about 3-8 bucks for a bottle that will last you 180 days!

http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-Vitamin-5000-120-Softgels/dp/B002EA99HE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334537870&sr=8-2

this is the 5000mg you can also get the 1000mg for about 5 bucks! Interesting...


Love NOW foods for basic supps... maybe i'll pick some D up! Their super EPA fish oil is the shyt.

Great workouts Josh! The H/S shoulder press sounds frustrating, but hex deads picked up the pace, and you really crushed benching. Looking forward to your log as you get shredded :cool: Yep...the epic workouts will probably wind down but perhaps there is an epic physique somewhere under all this fat...time will tell.

[triplewhammy]

Just hit up some basic cardio today: 10 min Ellptical, 5 min Bike, 10 min Treadmill (1.24 miles), 5 min Bike. Nice and easy...

[triplewhammy]

Fantastic Leg workout today...amazing what not being sick for once can do for a session! Wasn't crazy-good numbers but I left feeling great. Didn't get any dizziness or light-headed feeling.

Squats:
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 10

Machine Squat Press:
200 x 15
400 x 12
490 x 10
580 x 8

Lying Leg Curl:
65 x 15
80 x 12
95 x 10
110 x 8

Glute-Ham Raises
BW x 6
BW x 5

Seated Lex Extension:
100 x 15
130 x 15

[triplewhammy]

Took a half serving of GNC Ravage and 3 caps MRI NO2 and hit up Shoulders/Triceps/Hamstrings. Had a great workout, hit 10 reps on HS Shoulder Press 4pps (as always) and put a great hurtin' on my Triceps and Hamstrings. Usually take a few sets to get the dull ache out of my hammies since I just trained them a couple days ago but it went well. Very impressed with MRI NO2 actually, gave me a great pump.

[triplewhammy]

VERY pleased with the preworkout combo of GNC Ravage + 3 caps MRI NO2. Great energy, pumps were fantastic but not to the point of being prohibitive, and strength was good too. Didn't do a TON of back work today since I went heavier than normal but at the same time my back is probably my best muscle group so I'm not concerned at all. It was nice to pick up some heavy weight and that's all I cared about for my Hex Bar Deads.

Hex Bar Deadlifts:
135 x 15
225 x 12
315 x 10
405 x 8
495 x 5

Lat Pulldown:
60 x 15
80 x 10
100 x 10
120 x 10
140 x 10
160 x 8
140 x 8
120 x 8
100 x 8
80 x 8
60 x 8

Standing E-Z Bar Curl:
45 x 10
65 x 8
85 x 8
105 x 8
115 x 8

E-Z Bar Machine Curl:
70 x 8
80 x 8
90 x 8

Standing DB Curl:
40s x 8
35s x 8
30s x 8

DB Forearm Curl:
35s x 8
40s x 15
45s x 20

1-Arm Standing Spider Curl:
25s x 10
20s x 10

[nads786]

Great work man, the hex deads don't bother you at all just regular deads?

[triplewhammy]

Great work man, the hex deads don't bother you at all just regular deads? Just too nervous to try straight bar...I bet I could do them though. After I achieve some of my bb'ing goals I may give those a try but at this point the risk/reward ratio is not worth it. Between Hex Deads and Corner Rows my back gets hit very well. In the meantime I'm not willing to sacrifice my training for x % better back development.

[triplewhammy]

Hit up some cardio today: 5 min Elliptical, 5 min Bike, 10 min Treadmill (1.27 miles), 10 min Stepmill. FEEL DA BURN!

[nads786]

Nice cardio, bet it's easier now that you weigh less

[triplewhammy]

Had an EXCELLENT Chest/Triceps/Calves day today. Took a half serving NO-Xplode 2.0 + 3 caps MRI NO2. Overall, I can tell that I prefer GNC Ravage over NO-Xplode 2.0...just seems to give me better focus and energy than what I had today. Still managed to hit 11 reps on Flat DB Press 120 lb'ers and got 7 reps on Incline DB Press 100 lb'ers. High volume on the triceps (maybe even hit a PR on 1-Arm Pressdowns...) and strength was great.

[triplewhammy]

LEGS today! Felt pretty good overall, took around 125-150mg caffeine preworkout.

Squats:
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 11

6 sets Seated Leg Curls
3 sets Machine Leg Press
3 sets Seated Leg Extension

[triplewhammy]

UPDATE 4/29/2012

STATS
Weight: 205.4 lbs

TRAINING
CHEST DAY: Chest/Triceps/Calves (Primary Exercise: Bench)
BACK DAY: Back/Lats/Biceps (Primary Exercise: Hex Deadlift or Corner Row)
LEG DAY: Legs (Primary Exercise: Squats)
SHOULDER DAY: Shoulders/Arms/Hamstrings (Primary Exercise: HS Shoulder Press)
CARDIO: Treadmill/Stepmill/Elliptical

DIET
Diet is notched down to 2800 calories per day as follows:

7:00am Meal 1 (~600 cals)
10:00am BCAAs
12:30pm Meal 2 (~1000 cals)
3:30pm-5:00pm BCAAs
5:30pm Meal 3 (~500 cals)
7:00pm Meal 4 (~700 cals)
9:00pm BCAAs

On days that I don't work out, I actually only eat 3 times now:
7:00am Meal 1 (~1000 cals)
9:30am BCAAs
12:00pm Meal 2 (~1000 cals)
3:00pm BCAAs
6:00pm Meal 3 (~800 cals)
8:30pm BCAAs

As you can see, BCAAs truly shine in giving me the flexibility to accomodate my eating to my life, and not the other way around, in addition to the incredible fact that it increases Muscle Protein Synthesis. For those that don't know why I dose this way, look over this slideshow presentation by Layne Norton: http://www.slideshare.net/biolayne/optimal-protein-intake-and-meal-frequency-to-support-maximal-protein-synthesis-and-muscle-mass


SUPPLEMENTATION
Performance:
DS Triazole
AI Sports DAA
Solaray DopaBean
MRI NO2
Genomyx Slin-Sane
Gaspari Qualitine
AMS Body Mortar
BPI Blox
various preworkouts
various fatburners

Support:
Prolab Gold Cuts II
Ultimate Nutrition multivitamin
Primaforce Cissus
NOW Glucosamine
Multivitamin
Optimum Fish Oil
Optimum Performance Whey

I've started up another testbooster stack run as follows:
Week 1: 6g DAA, 2 caps Triazole, 2 caps DopaBean per day
Week 2: 3g DAA, 3 caps Triazole, 2 caps DopaBean per day
Week 3: 3g DAA, 3 caps Triazole, 2 caps DopaBean per day
Week 4: 3g DAA, 3 caps Triazole, 2 caps DopaBean per day
Week 5: 1-3 caps Triazole per day (until bottle is empty)

THOUGHTS
Didn't lose enough weight the past 2 weeks so I've notched down my calories by 200/day. I'm hoping this gets me back going again so that I can keep my cardio at 1 day of moderate intensity per week. Other than that, my caffeine has been at 100mg for 4 weeks and it's actually hitting me pretty well so on cardio days I will probably stick to 100mg but on weightlifting days I will bump up to 125-150mg caffeine (especially days I'm dragging).

Seems like strength is actually pretty solid right now so I just need to kick up my weightloss (especially with the nice test-boosting stack) and things will continue to roll!


Josh

[triplewhammy]

"Eat as much as you can, lift as heavy as you can, and do as little cardio as you can, for as long as you can, while still losing 1-2 pounds per week."

From the obesity rates in our country, it is pretty obvious that people are not simply eating SLIGHTLY above their maintenance caloric level, but they are eating WAY over it. Usually, quick calories like chips and pop add up and account for a large amount of this intake. I would bet that most people don't really have any estimate as to how many calories they are actually consuming day in and day out. Yet, it also seems like whenever people begin a "diet," the first thing they do is DRASTICALLY cut calories. Sometimes it's not intentional -- simply by switching to eating salads or skipping meals there is a huge caloric swing by nature. Other times, they intentionally drop their calories extremely low assuming that the feeling of intense hunger is just a normal part of dieting and means that it must be "working."

I personally used to diet similarly to this and although it provides immediate results, it does not provide consistent results. I always assumed that I would have to diet like this in order to lose weight. Now to be fair, as diets progress there certainly must be more and more restrictions and hunger definitely plays a factor as a diet continues on. But the reality is, the immediate starvation-mode dieting is actually counterproductive to weight loss -- not to mention, why would anyone want to feel starving all the time if they didn't have to?

So, the first aspect of dieting (contest prep in my specific case) is to eat as much as you can. Now, this does not mean eat anything in sight. It doesn't mean eat anything you want. And it doesn't mean eat cheat foods. What it means is what it says -- eat as much as you can get away with on your diet. Instead of immediately dropping calories to a drastically low level, you will benefit for a much longer dieting period if you SLOWLY ramp them down. This is especially true if you are in the offseason or if you are someone who has never dieted before and don't realize that you are actually consuming a considerable number of calories each day. For example, if you have been consistently consuming 3500 calories every day and want to begin a diet, there is no reason to drop your calories down to 2000 on Week 1. Your body is used to 3500 calories so if you provide simply a small incremental drop (200-300 cals) and start your diet at around 3200 calories, you would be surprised how well your body responds and how fat loss will begin with just a small change. Not only does this minimally impact your diet, but it minimally impacts your metabolism, hunger, and energy levels.

Here's what people often overlook: let's say you did drastically drop your calories to 2000/day and your weight loss is going great for a few weeks. Then, your weight loss plateaus out so you drop to 1600, then it plateaus again and a few weeks later you're down to 1200, etc etc. How low can you possibly drop your calories in order to keep your fat loss going? 1000 per day? 500? Not only do your energy levels suffer, but you will be incredibly hungry and on top of that (and probably most important) you begin to reach levels where it will be difficult simply to obtain adequate nutrition. So, in essence, if your diet makes radically large drops in calories you will be hindering your progress in a number of ways and really not setting yourself up for long-term fat loss.

Instead, begin your diet very near what you already typically consume. If you are losing the appropriate amount of weight each week (which will be discussed later), then keep your diet exactly as it is. There is no need to drop your calories for the sake of dropping them. Suffering while dieting does not make it progress any faster, and in many cases (especially if it leads to lethargy and poor performance in the gym) it will hinder it. As they say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" If your weight loss HAS stalled, and you feel that you can afford to drop some more calories in your diet rather than making changes to your cardio program, then make just a SMALL change. Dropping your daily calories by 200-300 can work wonders to kickstart fat loss while keeping the impact to your diet at a minimum. You will notice more consistent and steady energy levels and the impact to your strength and recovery will be much less significant.

Lastly, although I know that different macronutrient ratios can affect fat-loss differently, I personally only track my overall calories and my overall protein. Your protein requirements do not change just because you are dieting and I would actually argue that they are even more important while trying to retain muscle. So, after deciding what your weekly calories should look like, the next important thing is to make sure you are consuming at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight (the standard recommendation). Any calories that you drop on a week-to-week basis should then come from fats or carbs.

[triplewhammy]

Highlights from the past 3 training sessions:

HS Shoulder Press 4pps x 11 on Shoulder/Tricep/Hamstring day.

Corner Rows 7p x 8 on Back/Lats/Biceps day.

Treadmill 1.29 mi in 10 minutes on cardio day.

[nads786]

your corner row strength is still insane while on a cut! How much weight have you lost so far? and I loved your post above. I usually only track protein while on a cut as well, playing with carb/fat ratios never really made much of a difference for me.

[triplewhammy]

your corner row strength is still insane while on a cut! How much weight have you lost so far? and I loved your post above. I usually only track protein while on a cut as well, playing with carb/fat ratios never really made much of a difference for me. We'll see where I'm at this weekend, weight loss stalled out at 3000 cals/day haha. This dieting method works but you have to guess-and-check and that's why you need more time for prep which I am glad to say that I have! I am pushing the envelope every week in terms of how many calories I'm consuming so it's a fine line...

I will continue discussing the dieting strategy in the coming weeks... :cool:

[triplewhammy]

Had an excellent Chest/Triceps/Calves day today...took around a half serving of MP Assault and it seemed to work pretty well. Still digging the MRI NO2 Red for pumps too...good stuff. Decided to go a bit heavy with Bench instead of Flat DB Press. Since I need to keep my maximum strength up I like to switch to this every now and then. Low rep sets are definitely the exception to the rule for me though.

2 sets Machine Chest Press (warmup)

Bench:
135 x 12
185 x 10
225 x 15
275 x 3
315 x 2

Straight Bar Pressdown:
60 x 15
75 x 15
90 x 10
110 x 10
130 x 10
150 x 28

Incline DB Press:
70s x 8
85s x 8
100s x 7

6+ sets various Calf Exercises
3 sets Machine Skull Crusher
4 sets 1-Arm Cable Pressdown

[JJWheyy]

Hey Josh,

I know you've taken caffeine/pre-workouts and all that, and that you come off them at times...

I just stopped taking caffeine, like all in one go (500mg - 1g daily) - so you do experience any type of dizziness? Its not tiredness but like almost feeling uneasy on your feet.

I'm thinking to just go through it for 4-5 days (on my third) and then if it hasnt eased, I better phone the doc lol

Thanks man

[nads786]

Hey Bro,

What kind of belt would you recommend? I bought a cheap one just to try it and wanted to get something a little bit better, I've heard Inzer is the best, thoughts? and clear your private messages! haha

[triplewhammy]

Hey Josh,

I know you've taken caffeine/pre-workouts and all that, and that you come off them at times...

I just stopped taking caffeine, like all in one go (500mg - 1g daily) - so you do experience any type of dizziness? Its not tiredness but like almost feeling uneasy on your feet.

I'm thinking to just go through it for 4-5 days (on my third) and then if it hasnt eased, I better phone the doc lol

Thanks man

I rarely get up to 500+ mg of caffeine. Usually that only happens DEEP into contest prep when I have no energy left. But as far as going cold turkey, the first two weeks are definitely the worst. Give it 14 days and you will begin to notice feeling more "normal" without it. I recommend going 4 weeks straight without caffeine to reset your tolerance. Just a few months ago I was up to 300mg caffeine + 45mg DMAA and after taking a 1 month break, just 100-150mg caffeine gets me going and in some cases keeps me up at night later than I want!


Hey Bro,

What kind of belt would you recommend? I bought a cheap one just to try it and wanted to get something a little bit better, I've heard Inzer is the best, thoughts? and clear your private messages! haha

Definitely the Inzer Lever Belt without hesitation. This belt is incredibly durable and the quick-latch lever gives you the perfect fit every time. I remember when I used to use velcro or leather notch belts I would have to yank on them to get them to the tightness I wanted but with this, once the lever is in place it is easy to get it as tight as you want. I personally use the Forever Lever Belt 10mm: http://www.inzernet.com/detail_belt.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FOREVER_LEVER_10MM

I'll clean up my PMs :cool:

[nads786]

thanks bro, any size recommendations? I was looking at the 10mm as well, do you have Medium or Large?

[lhockey]

Hey Josh,

Nice workouts in here lately! Still can't imagine ever benching 315 :eek:

Hope the mild drop in calories brings on more weight loss! Great post on your dieting philosophy... much more reasonable and mentally/physically healthy than common dieting trends

[triplewhammy]

thanks bro, any size recommendations? I was looking at the 10mm as well, do you have Medium or Large? I BELIEVE I have the Medium. I recommend getting a size where you use the notches closer to the end. This will keep the amount of extra belt that gets wrapped around you to a minimum. The 10mm is great. Just keep in mind that for the first month or so, this belt will probably feel weird and awkward. After that, you will wonder how you ever lifted heavy without it. :cool:


Hey Josh,

Nice workouts in here lately! Still can't imagine ever benching 315 :eek:

Hope the mild drop in calories brings on more weight loss! Great post on your dieting philosophy... much more reasonable and mentally/physically healthy than common dieting trends

Thanks bro! We will see about the calories...may have to notch 'em down again... yeah I will continue on in the discussion with lifting and cardio philosophy too. Most of it you can gather if you've been following the log for any considerable amount of time but these small posts will help put it all into words. Also, more vids are coming...just been busy...but they're coming.

[triplewhammy]

Trained Legs today. Took about 1.5 servings of MusclePharm Assault. Pretty solid looking label, especially seeing as how they use a bunch of licensed ingredients, and it gave me good straightforward energy.

Squats:
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 11
365 x 6

Seated Leg Curl Machine:
60 x 12
80 x 12
100 x 12
110 x 12
120 x 12
130 x 12

Seated Leg Extension:
80 x 15
100 x 15
120 x 15

[lhockey]

nice set at 365! Pretty major weight to be repping during a cut :cool:

if i ever buy my own lifting belt, it'll definitely be an inzer

[triplewhammy]

nice set at 365! Pretty major weight to be repping during a cut :cool:

if i ever buy my own lifting belt, it'll definitely be an inzer I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend the Inzer Lever belt. It is exactly what I was looking for many years ago...

[nads786]

I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend the Inzer Lever belt. It is exactly what I was looking for many years ago...

Ordered mine yesterday, got it in black hopefully it comes within a week!

[triplewhammy]

Went to church this morning in our new building and then this afternoon I was feelin' in the mood to go with a SICK High-Volume workout for Shoulders, Triceps, and Hammies. Kept it real simple. Nothing like a 495-rep workout... :cool:

HS Shoulder Press (per side):
25 x 15
35 x 15
1p x 15
1p + 25 x 15
2p x 15
2p + 25 x 15
3p x 15
2p x 15
1p x 15

Lateral DB Raise (per side):
5 x 15
10 x 15
15 x 15
20 x 15
25 x 15
20 x 15
15 x 15

Seated Leg Curl:
55 x 15
70 x 15
85 x 15
100 x 15
115 x 15
130 x 15
115 x 15
100 x 15

E-Z Bar Pressdown:
50 x 15
60 x 15
70 x 15
80 x 15
90 x 15
100 x 15
110 x 15
120 x 15
130 x 15

[JJWheyy]

Crazy workout dude haha, I bet youre sore a fuuuuuu today :P

[triplewhammy]

Crazy workout dude haha, I bet youre sore a fuuuuuu today :P Definitely bro, especially since I just trained hammies with Legs then the next day did this High Volume workout on them again!

[lhockey]

Great volume in that workout! What made you decide to train hammies again? Brutal :eek:

[triplewhammy]

Lower back has been achey ever since I did really heavy Hex Deads several days ago so today I went back to my bread-n-butter...Corner Rows. I'll probably avoid Hex Deads for the next few weeks while my back strengthens. Nothing stopping me, just want to play it safe.

Corner Rows:
1p x 15
2p x 10
3p x 10
4p x 10
5p x 8
6p x 15

Lat Pulldown:
90 x 10
110 x 10
130 x 10
150 x 10
170 x 10
190 x 10

V-Grip Pulldown:
150 x 8
170 x 8
190 x 7

Standing Barbell Curl:
50 x 10
65 x 8
80 x 8
95 x 8
110 x 6

1-Arm Machine Curl:
80 x 8
95 x 8
110 x 8
125 x 6
95 x 8

DB Rows:
80s x 8
90s x 8
100s x 8

Shrugs:
45s x 10
45s x 10
60s x 8
75s x 8

Hammer Curl:
25s x 8
30s x 8
27.5s x 8

[triplewhammy]

Great volume in that workout! What made you decide to train hammies again? Brutal :eek: Not sure what got into me, other than the fact that I need to make sure my legs are improved next time I step on stage...which happens to be later this year :cool:

[triplewhammy]

Cardio today:

10 min Elliptical
5 min Bike
10 min Treadmill (1.32 miles!)
10 min Stepmill


BOOM DONE.

[lhockey]

Cardio today:

10 min Elliptical
5 min Bike
10 min Treadmill (1.32 miles!)
10 min Stepmill


BOOM DONE.

Simple and effective! Any reason you do so many forms of cardio over such a short time? Is it to keep the body guessing?

[triplewhammy]

Didn't have the energy or focus I wanted today and my strength dipped a bit to reflect this for Chest/Triceps/Calves day.

Flat DB Press:
70s x 10
95s x 8
110s x 8
120s x 10
120s x 6

Incline DB Press:
70s x 8
85s x 8
100s x 6 (booo...)

10+ sets various Tricep exercises
8+ sets various Calf exercises

[lhockey]

120'sx10 doesn't seem like much of a dip to me... what do you usually hit them for? The 100's on incline is the only place you seemed weaker

[nads786]

120'sx10 doesn't seem like much of a dip to me... what do you usually hit them for? The 100's on incline is the only place you seemed weaker

agreed, 120 is pretty beastly.. How much are you weighing now?


And the Inzer belt finally came in the mail today. I got a medium but I'm already at the 3rd to last hole.. I measured my waist at 33 inch, Is this just a matter of the belt adjusting to my body?

[triplewhammy]

120'sx10 doesn't seem like much of a dip to me... what do you usually hit them for? The 100's on incline is the only place you seemed weaker Wasn't a huge dip but the Incline Press was junk! :( I was hoping to get 12 reps with the 120s...wishful thinking I guess? LOL


agreed, 120 is pretty beastly.. How much are you weighing now?


And the Inzer belt finally came in the mail today. I got a medium but I'm already at the 3rd to last hole.. I measured my waist at 33 inch, Is this just a matter of the belt adjusting to my body? I will weigh in and update tomorrow. As far as the belt goes, how close are you to your peak weight (i.e. the tail end of a bulk)? At the end of my bulk I was on the last notch which was a good clue for me to start dieting down. Right now I am at eithe 2nd or 3rd from the end. I think I said it earlier, but I recommend the belt be a bit on the small side to reduce the amount of extra slack you have to wrap around.

[triplewhammy]

LEGS today. Standard workout, strength is still very good...

Squats:
135 x 8
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 11

3 sets Machine Leg Press
3 sets Seated Leg Extension
6 sets Seated Leg Curl

[triplewhammy]

UPDATE 5/13/2012


http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4453131&d=1336944051


STATS
Weight: 204.2 lbs

TRAINING
CHEST DAY: Chest/Triceps/Calves (Primary Exercise: Bench)
BACK DAY: Back/Lats/Biceps (Primary Exercise: Hex Deadlift or Corner Row)
LEG DAY: Legs (Primary Exercise: Squats)
SHOULDER DAY: Shoulders/Arms/Hamstrings (Primary Exercise: HS Shoulder Press)
CARDIO: Treadmill/Stepmill/Elliptical

DIET
Diet is notched down again to 2600 calories per day as follows:

7:00am Meal 1 (~600 cals)
10:00am BCAAs
12:30pm Meal 2 (~1000 cals)
3:30pm-5:00pm BCAAs
5:30pm Meal 3 (~400 cals)
7:00pm Meal 4 (~600 cals)
9:00pm BCAAs

On days that I don't work out, I actually only eat 3 times now:
7:00am Meal 1 (~1000 cals)
9:30am BCAAs
12:00pm Meal 2 (~1000 cals)
3:00pm BCAAs
6:00pm Meal 3 (~600 cals)
8:30pm BCAAs

As you can see, BCAAs truly shine in giving me the flexibility to accomodate my eating to my life, and not the other way around, in addition to the incredible fact that it increases Muscle Protein Synthesis. For those that don't know why I dose this way, look over this slideshow presentation by Layne Norton: http://www.slideshare.net/biolayne/optimal-protein-intake-and-meal-frequency-to-support-maximal-protein-synthesis-and-muscle-mass


SUPPLEMENTATION
Performance:
DS Triazole
AI Sports DAA
Solaray DopaBean
MRI NO2 RED
Genomyx Slin-Sane
Gaspari Qualitine
AMS Body Mortar
BPI Blox
various preworkouts
various fatburners

Support:
Prolab Gold Cuts II
Ultimate Nutrition multivitamin
USPlabs Super Cissus
NOW Glucosamine
Multivitamin
Optimum Fish Oil
whey protein

My testbooster stack is as follows:
Week 1: 6g DAA, 2 caps Triazole, 2 caps DopaBean per day
Week 2: 3g DAA, 3 caps Triazole, 2 caps DopaBean per day
Week 3: 3g DAA, 3 caps Triazole, 2 caps DopaBean per day
Week 4: 3g DAA, 3 caps Triazole, 2 caps DopaBean per day
Week 5: 1-3 caps Triazole per day (until bottle is empty)

THOUGHTS
Well last weekend I did a weigh-in and only noticed a very minor change in weightloss which was not good so I at the start of this week I notched my diet down again to 2600 calories. So, based on my weigh-in this weekend it doesn't look like I've made very good progress since 2 weeks ago (which I haven't) but this is all part of the normal guess-and-check method that I employ. Rather than anticipate not losing weight by dropping my calories ahead of time, I would much rather let a week go by and see that, in fact, my calories are too and THEN drop them down. This feedback method lets me keep the calories as high as I possibly can. The last thing I want to do is drop them prematurely. So, all that to say that I hit my ceiling with 2800 calories so it's time to press on!

This weekend for Mother's Day, the family and I went down to St Louis zoo and spent the night in the area. I managed to stick pretty well to my diet as seen by the fact that the scale was showing what I would expect it to with the next caloric limit. On Friday I spent about 5 hours walking the zoo then on Saturday another 4 hours walking the mall. So, I think that contributed to the weightloss, especially since I could only guesstimate how many calories I was eating at the various restaurants we ate at. I think/hope that I will be able to ride out 2600 calories for several weeks. For my last contest prep I started my diet at 2500 calories at a bodyweight of around 200 lbs so my goal is to get BELOW 200 lbs at a 2600 calorie intake. That would demonstrate that I do have more muscle burning more calories and show some great offseason progress.

As far as the supplements go, the test-boosting stack is working very well. I especially have always loved running Triazole at night because I sleep like an absolute ROCK. The downside is that I wake up feeling groggy but regardless it gives me a deep refreshing sleep so waking up in a slight fog is a small price to pay for the increased recovery. Aslo, I am still fascinated at how well BCAAs work during a caloric deficit. I really feel like I have kept a LARGE majority of my strength and muscle mass so far despite feeling some major hunger pangs lately (which would normally indicate that my body may be catabolic). The BCAAs have done an incredible job so far and I look forward to keeping the aminos flowing and keeping much of my offseason gains. I haven't lost enough fat so far to really give me a good picture, but from what I can tell I am set up for a noticeably improved contest physique especially in my legs which is where I have put a lot of my energy. I've been squatting week in and week out non-stop so I know I've given it what I can.


Josh

[Reid456]

You are right, Josh: The legs are looking huge! Great work! So if you are at 2600 calories now, what do you think you will eventually get down to near the end of contest prep? 2600 sounds low for your size but, everyone is different.

[triplewhammy]

You are right, Josh: The legs are looking huge! Great work! So if you are at 2600 calories now, what do you think you will eventually get down to near the end of contest prep? 2600 sounds low for your size but, everyone is different. Thanks bro! They will shrivel up of course towards the end but since they are the best offseason they've ever been it would seem logical that they will be the best contest shape they've ever been...time will tell.

Yeah 2600 is starting to get low but still not bad. I don't feel like I'm starving or anything. I think the ONE negative of my diet/BCAA dosing strategy is that with infrequent meals, I miss out on the thermal effect of digestion meaning my metabolism probably is slower than if I were to eat 2600 calories in 6-8 meals over the course of a day. But, on the flip-side since BCAAs make me more anabolic, it really is offset and aside from having to drop my calories a bit there really isn't a problem in terms of muscle loss or strength loss. This is purely bro-speculation on my part.

I think during the last month of my previous I contest I was around 1700 cals/day or so...? Once I'm around 2200 or so I will probably throw in the 2nd day of cardio instead of dropping the cals and that should keep the fatloss going. That is why I reserve all these trump cards in my hand. I always have something to go to that will keep the fat dropping off and that's why I do it this way!

[jaredmus]

Looking like a big 204 man keep it up! Can't wait to see what your going to look like on stage eventually man! Keep pushing hard man!

[nads786]

Bro your legs are massive! Looking good otherwise 2600 calories is a bit low for 204lbs IMO.

[triplewhammy]

Looking like a big 204 man keep it up! Can't wait to see what your going to look like on stage eventually man! Keep pushing hard man!


Bro your legs are massive! Looking good otherwise 2600 calories is a bit low for 204lbs IMO.

Thanks guys, really been hittin my legs hard. Some days I see great potential, other days I feel like they haven't grown at all, ah well....

As far as the 2600 cals go, maybe it is a bit low but again I'm only doing 1 day of cardio and I'd like to keep it that way for awhile so changes need to come from my diet first. My last contest prep started at 200 lbs and 2500 cals/day and went very well so I think this will be ok. I gave 2800 cals a chance and they didn't do the trick for me. I have NO problem if I prep "too early" and get a chance to level out my cals as the show gets nearer, would be a first! :cool:

[MWcollegiate176]

Finally in! Like I said on FB, lookin' huge! I'll be following along!

[triplewhammy]

Finally in! Like I said on FB, lookin' huge! I'll be following along! Right on!

[coolguydsc21]

Looking big brother! Keep it up!!! Just back in to the groove of things after a long hiatus.

[triplewhammy]

Looking big brother! Keep it up!!! Just back in to the groove of things after a long hiatus. Good man, hit it hard and stick around!

[triplewhammy]

Had a fantastic Shoulders/Biceps/Hammies workout today. Not sure if I'm a glutton for punishment or what, but lately I have been hitting hamstrings 2 days in a row...killer! Highlights included HS Shoulder Press 4pps x 12 and Standing DB Curl 50s x 10! Suhweet! Didn't really do anything special today so not sure where the strength came from (actually had a kinda junky night's sleep last night too) but I can tell that my recovery is enhanced with the Triazole/DAA stack, no doubt about.

[triplewhammy]

Cardio today:
10 min Elliptical
5 min Bike
10 min Treadmill (1.32 miles)
10 min Stepmill

Heart Rate was in the high 170s so based on my approximate Max Heart Rate (220-26 = 194) I am definitely in the high intensity zone...!

Dinner tonight was a 1-pound steak + cream corn. BOOM DONE!

[swimmer32]

As far as the 2600 cals go, maybe it is a bit low but again I'm only doing 1 day of cardio and I'd like to keep it that way for awhile so changes need to come from my diet first.

The number of cals a person needs fluctuates so much based on activity levels and body type that it's hard to say that 2600 calories are low. For example, I sit on my butt, in my office, in front of the computer, for 9-10 hours a day. My activity levels are so low that I can BULK on 2600 calories, even when my weight is around 200 pounds.

We have the same dieting philosophy as far as slowly lowering calories when our weight loss levels off. Although I find it interesting that you don't count your macros at all - will that change as you get closer to competition? Just curious, as I tend to be carb sensitive, so lowering my carbs can have a big effect on my body composition.

[triplewhammy]

The number of cals a person needs fluctuates so much based on activity levels and body type that it's hard to say that 2600 calories are low. For example, I sit on my butt, in my office, in front of the computer, for 9-10 hours a day. My activity levels are so low that I can BULK on 2600 calories, even when my weight is around 200 pounds.

We have the same dieting philosophy as far as slowly lowering calories when our weight loss levels off. Although I find it interesting that you don't count your macros at all - will that change as you get closer to competition? Just curious, as I tend to be carb sensitive, so lowering my carbs can have a big effect on my body composition. Yeah, you are exactly right...activity levels can definitely make a huge impact.

As far as my macros, aside from protein per day I don't keep track. The main reason being as far as carbs go, the glycemic index of a meal is drastically altered by the presence of fats and carbs. It also seems that low-fat diets are good for fat loss but yet at the same time fats (even saturated) are important for maintaining healthy hormone levels and keeping the joints feeling good. On top of that, it is simply a much bigger hassle to track macros. I dieted this way for my last show and I really found that all the crazy type of diets are no better for me than just tracking my overall calories. I will say that in extreme circumstances if fat loss is stalled bad and I'm out of options I would implement a low-carb diet which seems to shred pounds at a nasty rate. From what I understand, carbs are actually more muscle-sparing (anti-catabolic) than even protein, so the low-carb diet would be a risk to maintaining my muscle mass which is why I'd only use it if absolutely needed.

[triplewhammy]

Had a fantastic Back/Lats/Biceps day today. Great energy, focus, strength, stamina, etc etc.

Corner Rows:
1p x 10
2p x 8
3p x 8
4p x 8
5p x 8
6p x 8
7p x 8

Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown:
90 x 10
110 x 8
130 x 8
150 x 8
170 x 8
190 x 8

Straight Bar Curl:
45 x 10
60 x 8
75 x 8
90 x 8
105 x 8

Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown:
190 x 10
170 x 10
150 x 10

HS Iso Row:
1pps x 10
2pps x 8
3pps x 8

1-Arm Machine Curl:
95 x 8
110 x 8
125 x 6 (+2 assisted)
140 x 4 (+4 assisted)
95 x 8

Shrugs:
45s x 10
45s x 10
65s x 10
85s x 10

Hammer Curl:
25s x 10

[bigryan03]

Hey Josh, long time lurker here so I thought I might as well let you know im still here.

Earlier on you mentioned that you were concerned about eating fewer meals hindering your met rate and TEF. Give this a read. If you wanted I could find a few studies for your showing no difference in TEF or met rate in terms of meal frequency.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=141401361&page=1

Just thought id chime in with that to put your mind at ease, eating only 3 meals :D

[triplewhammy]

Hey Josh, long time lurker here so I thought I might as well let you know im still here.

Earlier on you mentioned that you were concerned about eating fewer meals hindering your met rate and TEF. Give this a read. If you wanted I could find a few studies for your showing no difference in TEF or met rate in terms of meal frequency.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=141401361&page=1

Just thought id chime in with that to put your mind at ease, eating only 3 meals :D Nice! Thanks, I will check it out! Would be great to see no difference between the two...

[nads786]

Nice! Thanks, I will check it out! Would be great to see no difference between the two...

Have you ever heard of intermediate fasting? It's an awesome way to diet, I'd give you a link but I'm on my phone.

[triplewhammy]

Have you ever heard of intermediate fasting? It's an awesome way to diet, I'd give you a link but I'm on my phone. Yeah I have. I like the concept behind it, especially in terms of avoiding the over-obsessive 8-10 meal/day thing that plagued me for many years and being able to focus on other things outside of fitness. Having said that, while I'm sure it works for some people it has little to no appeal to me as a way to diet.

[JJWheyy]

Legs look massive Josh, great everything else aswell. Mandatory no homo. Gjdm

[triplewhammy]

Hit up Chest yesterday. Didn't have all that great strength but wasn't terrible either. It seems lately that based on my schedule, Chest is getting hit the next day right after Back. So what ends up happening is that I'm still feeling a bit depleted and run-down which affects my lifts. I do much better lifting when it is preceded by either a day of rest or cardio. Maybe next week I will try to schedule things so that Chest can get hit fresh. Managed to get Flat DB Press 120s x 9 and 130s x 4 and Incline DB Press 100s x 7 so again it wasn't horrible but I know I can do better. Gotta keep pushing.

[5Six]

Impressive progressive bud

[triplewhammy]

Impressive progressive bud Thanks bro! Definitely been my best off-season yet, just worried about shriveling up and losing the muscle now but oh well. I'm heading to Glute-StriationVille on a nonstop flight. :cool:

[triplewhammy]

Did some cardio again this week. Feeling pretty beat up still so I wasn't about to lift but at the same time I wanted to get active.

10 min Bike
10 min Elliptical
10 min Bike
10 min Elliptical

Gonna take tomorrow off...

[triplewhammy]

McZ9jPLBrok

[swimmer32]

Love the new vid! You and Sam are a great motivation! Seeing you two every week makes me get my butt in gear. haha

[triplewhammy]

Love the new vid! You and Sam are a great motivation! Seeing you two every week makes me get my butt in gear. haha Right on, that's why we do it!

[triplewhammy]

Well on Sunday I picked up a 24-hour flu unfortunately. My wife and son both had it earlier in the week and I thought I was safe but apparently not. I did cardio on Saturday, took Sunday off, then ended up taking Monday off to recover as well. Sunday night I had a couple meals and a couple protein shakes make a return trip out of my mouth which wasn't very pleasant. Who knows what my cals and macros looked like that day! Anyway, my return to the gym today of course had to be Legs (booo...). So, I wasn't quite "feelin it" today but my strength surprised me and I got done what I needed to. Wasn't an epic workout but I was definitely pleased with what I got. Kept it short and sweet but it was enough to fatigue me as I'm getting back into my groove.

Squats:
135 x 8
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 11

4 sets Seated Leg Extension
6 sets Lying Leg Curl

[BannerB]

This is just ****ing motivational!! this video is going to help someone transform their body, mind, and life!

[lhockey]

Legs and arms are looking massive! Sorry to hear you're already down to 2600/day, but whatever you're doing is working :D

Can't wait to watch the new vid! Just graduated from college so I'll be following regularly after the insanity of last week

[triplewhammy]

This is just ****ing motivational!! this video is going to help someone transform their body, mind, and life! That's why I do this. Glad you're here bro.


Legs and arms are looking massive! Sorry to hear you're already down to 2600/day, but whatever you're doing is working :D

Can't wait to watch the new vid! Just graduated from college so I'll be following regularly after the insanity of last week Right on! Yeah, I feel that my muscles are protected with all the BCAAs plus the hormonal support from DAA/Triazole doesn't hurt either...

Congrats on graduating, what's your degree in?

[triplewhammy]

Again, not 100% energy-wise but I made it happen for Shoulders/Triceps/Calves today. Squeaked out 10 reps on HS Shoulder Press with 4 plates per side. Put in a ton of volume on the Triceps too and had a great pump going. Just didn't have the focus or stamina but at least the strength kept me going.

[triplewhammy]

Still feeling a bit run down today so I kept the cardio simple and lower intensity than normal.

15 min Elliptical
15 min Bike
15 min Stepmill

[nads786]

At this stage of your cut, I doubt you will really feel "energetic" during any of the workouts. It's all about grinding and keeping the strength!

[Reid456]

At this stage of your cut, I doubt you will really feel "energetic" during any of the workouts. It's all about grinding and keeping the strength!
And by "this stage" do you mean 20+ weeks until contest? Maybe even 30? It's barely begun. Energy should still be there.

[nads786]

And by "this stage" do you mean 20+ weeks until contest? Maybe even 30? It's barely begun. Energy should still be there.

Oh wow did not know that, correction still should have energy haha..

[Reid456]

Oh wow did not know that, correction still should have energy haha..
Well we all have days where we don't have energy, even in a surplus sometimes.

[nads786]

Well we all have days where we don't have energy, even in a surplus sometimes.

very true, that's what caffeine is for! I just noticed he was having low energy workouts back to back.

[triplewhammy]

Haha yeah you are both right. I SHOULD have more energy but I haven't had much this week and I think it mostly has to do with the flu. It really threw me off my game for a minute, not only because of the lack of cals that day but I got way dehydrated too. Plus I rarely if ever take off 3 days straight from the gym which also makes me feel slightly "off." I am on the rebound though. Also, keep in mind I'm still only at 150mg caffeine preworkout so it's really not much at all...thinking about stepping up to 200mg in a bit here... :cool:

[lhockey]

i'm telling you man, look into Sulbutiamine + a low dose of caffeine pre workout. Great physical energy without mental jitters or anything... I love it when i'm trying to keep my caffeine intake down! Nutra has pretty cheap bulk powder (I take between 600-800mg + 100mg caffeine)

Too bad about the lack of energy, but the numbers really do look solid, so you can take pride in getting the work done even without feeling 100%

[triplewhammy]

i'm telling you man, look into Sulbutiamine + a low dose of caffeine pre workout. Great physical energy without mental jitters or anything... I love it when i'm trying to keep my caffeine intake down! Nutra has pretty cheap bulk powder (I take between 600-800mg + 100mg caffeine)

Too bad about the lack of energy, but the numbers really do look solid, so you can take pride in getting the work done even without feeling 100% Yeah I'm makin it happen. I have a ton of preworkout samples from The Arnold Expo still and I think some of them contain Sulbutiamine. I also seem to remember Choline Bitartrate in some as well, which I think may help with energy or focus.

[triplewhammy]

Energy was only slightly better today for Back/Lats/Biceps BUT Stamina seemed to be much improved. Felt like I recovered well between sets and kept a consistent intensity the entire workout.

Corner Rows:
1p x 8
2p x 8
3p x 8
4p x 8
5p x 8
6p x 16
6p x 9

Standing Barbell Curl:
50 x 10
65 x 10
70 x 8
90 x 8
100 x 8

Lat Pulldown:
90 x 12
110 x 10
130 x 8
150 x 8
170 x 8
190 x 8

7 sets 1-Arm Machine Curl
3 sets Seated Parallel-Grip Cable Row
3 sets Parallel-Grip Pulldown
5 sets Shrugs

[triplewhammy]

UPDATE 5/25/2012

STATS
Weight: 201.4 lbs :cool:

TRAINING
CHEST DAY: Chest/Triceps/Calves (Primary Exercise: Flat DB Press)
BACK DAY: Back/Lats/Biceps (Primary Exercise: Corner Row)
LEG DAY: Legs (Primary Exercise: Squats)
SHOULDER DAY: Shoulders/Arms/Hamstrings (Primary Exercise: Hammer Strength Shoulder Press)
CARDIO: Treadmill/Stepmill/Elliptical

DIET
Diet is 2600 calories per day as follows:

7:00am Meal 1 (~600 cals)
10:00am BCAAs
12:30pm Meal 2 (~1000 cals)
3:30pm-5:00pm BCAAs
5:30pm Meal 3 (~400 cals)
7:00pm Meal 4 (~600 cals)
9:00pm BCAAs

On days that I don't work out, I actually only eat 3 times now:
7:00am Meal 1 (~1000 cals)
9:30am BCAAs
12:00pm Meal 2 (~1000 cals)
3:00pm BCAAs
6:00pm Meal 3 (~600 cals)
8:30pm BCAAs

As you can see, BCAAs truly shine in giving me the flexibility to accomodate my eating to my life, and not the other way around, in addition to the incredible fact that it increases Muscle Protein Synthesis. For those that don't know why I dose this way, look over this slideshow presentation by Layne Norton: http://www.slideshare.net/biolayne/optimal-protein-intake-and-meal-frequency-to-support-maximal-protein-synthesis-and-muscle-mass


SUPPLEMENTATION
Performance:
DS Triazole
Solaray DopaBean
Genomyx Slin-Sane
Gaspari Qualitine
AMS Body Mortar
BPI Blox
various preworkouts
various fatburners

Support:
Prolab Gold Cuts II
Ultimate Nutrition multivitamin
USPlabs Super Cissus
NOW Glucosamine
Multivitamin
Optimum Fish Oil
whey protein

My testbooster stack is as follows, I am currently in the 5th and final week:
Week 1: 6g DAA, 2 caps Triazole, 2 caps DopaBean per day
Week 2: 3g DAA, 3 caps Triazole, 2 caps DopaBean per day
Week 3: 3g DAA, 3 caps Triazole, 2 caps DopaBean per day
Week 4: 3g DAA, 3 caps Triazole, 2 caps DopaBean per day
Week 5: 1-3 caps Triazole per day (until bottle is empty)

THOUGHTS
Very excited to see the fat-loss train rolling again. I think 2600 cals is a good number for me even though to some it might seem low. I will say I've been feeling some hunger pangs at 2600 cals vs 2800 though. Small changes in the diet like this are definitely the best route either way.

At this point I am roughly where I began my contest prep a couple years ago so I am probably 4-5 weeks ahead of schedule which is great. Granted, I'm not NECESSARILY on a contest countdown yet because like I said before if I'm not ready I won't enter. I have to make sure that I have shredded glutes and hammies or there is no point in me competing. So technically I'm not any number of weeks out but more than likely I am ahead of schedule for what should be my next contest.

Supplements are still pretty much the same. I am winding down my testbooster stack though, so I'm just running Triazole at this point. This stack has been great as expected with enhanced recovery and maintaining my strength pretty well. Obviously the flu I had earlier this week hindered me a bit, but I still feel like things are going as expected. Strength is slightly down but overall has plateaued, just need to keep fighting it.

Not a ton else to say right now. Cardio is still just 1 time per day and I'm hoping I can ride out 2600 cals/day for many, many weeks. For my last contest prep I began the diet at 2500 calories, so I feel like any weight loss below last contest prep that occurs on a 2600 cal/day diet means there has been at least some offseason progress made. Definitely getting to the point where I'm that in-between stage of not big and strong but not small and ripped either, so basically just fat and weak. I will be at this point for probably another 8 weeks too LOL!


Josh

[5Six]

Always impressed by your amount of detail when it comes to this log. :cool:

[triplewhammy]

Always impressed by your amount of detail when it comes to this log. :cool: Thanks bro. I'm laying it all out there so people can see exactly what I do and takes notes as they see fit.

[lhockey]

Nice sets of corner rows and awesome to see the weight coming off again!

Choline definitely works for focus, but in terms of energy, I think it's more likely to make you sleepy than energetic. It all depends on the dose you take though.

[triplewhammy]

Nice sets of corner rows and awesome to see the weight coming off again!

Choline definitely works for focus, but in terms of energy, I think it's more likely to make you sleepy than energetic. It all depends on the dose you take though. Hmm...interesting...

[triplewhammy]

Well yesterday I woke up at 200.8 lbs and feeling pretty good so I had no problem putting in a cheat meal. I took my wife out to dinner and a movie since she is less than a month away from her due date and will probably be stuck at home for several weeks. Went to Biaggi's, a nice italian place, and then went to see The Avengers. I actually didn't eat my entire entree so most of the cheat came from the appetizers (lots of french bread).

Today I hit Chest/Triceps/Calves and I was rushed so it wasn't as good of a workout as it could have been. Just didn't have enough time, plain and simple. Kinda lame but oh well.

2 sets Machine Chest Press, warmup

Flat DB Press:
70s x 12
90s x 10
110s x 8
120s x 10 (good set)
130s x 3 (bad set)

Straight Bar Pressdown:
65 x 15
80 x 15
95 x 12
110 x 8
130 x 8
150 (stack) x 25

2 sets 1-Arm Pressdown
6 sets Calf Exercises


After that, I went home but because I didn't burn off enough energy in the gym I mowed the lawn and then after that I jumped rope for about 5 minutes. First time I've jumped rope in years. It was pretty neat and I may have to start implementing it more.

[triplewhammy]

Now that the schools are out for the summer, I can access the track more. Those of you that followed my last prep know that I enjoy the track because it's a good balance between treadmill and road running. So today I kept it pretty simple and busted out 2 miles on the track. :cool:

[lhockey]

WAIT, how did I miss your wife being pregnant?! Congrats man, that's awesome :D

How do you feel about jump rope vs. running/biking for cardio? I personally love biking, but I've considered jump rope as an alternative. And what did you think about the Avengers? I thought it was funny but not nearly as good as Iron Man, while my friends were obsessed with it.

I hear you on the rushed workouts... as long as you get in a couple good sets there's nothing to worry about!

[triplewhammy]

WAIT, how did I miss your wife being pregnant?! Congrats man, that's awesome :D

How do you feel about jump rope vs. running/biking for cardio? I personally love biking, but I've considered jump rope as an alternative. And what did you think about the Avengers? I thought it was funny but not nearly as good as Iron Man, while my friends were obsessed with it.

I hear you on the rushed workouts... as long as you get in a couple good sets there's nothing to worry about!

Thanks bro, our daughter will be coming in late June!

Well, like I said I rarely jump rope but I enjoyed it for variety the other day. I definitely like feeling more "athletic" doing it as opposed to cardio on an elliptical or other machine.

Avengers was good but I wouldn't go see it 2 or 3 times at the theater like some people are!

I will "avenge" the chest workout next week. :D

[triplewhammy]

Had a pretty good Leg day today. Took Black Powder pre-workout which I anticipated being crappy in terms of energy and my expectations came true. Supposedly it has around 200mg caffeine but it definitely doesn't feel like it. I've used it in the past and I remembered it not working all that well. So I also took a "dash" of Dymatize Xpand right before lifting to round out my energy "needs." :D

Also, in the middle of my workout I decided that my belt wasn't tight enough so I moved it in another notch! Good progress in that regard, nice feedback that I'm slimming up. Unfortunately it made it a bit harder to breathe since the belt was good and tight again, but I'll take that in exchange for better back support.

Squats:
135 x 8
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 10 (real grinder...)

3 sets Machine Squat Press
3 sets Lying Leg Curl
3 sets Glute-Ham Raises
3 sets Seated Leg Extension

[lhockey]

hooray for another belt notch in! Lol at the "dash" of dymatize... whatever gets ya going :p

[triplewhammy]

hooray for another belt notch in! Lol at the "dash" of dymatize... whatever gets ya going :p Yeah I know right?! Belt's a bit tight but hey that's what I bought it for. I will probably go with a "sprinkle" of dymatize today in addition to Black Powder... LOL

[nads786]

Nice workout, I got squats today as well, brb doubling up my caffeine pre workout..

[lhockey]

Yeah I know right?! Belt's a bit tight but hey that's what I bought it for. I will probably go with a "sprinkle" of dymatize today in addition to Black Powder... LOL

Is this MRI black powder you're referring to? Actually the worst product I've ever tried... my sample made me super red and splotchy, with little energy and a whole lot of itchiness. Not sure what I was allergic to in the product. Novem is still my go to for a simple formula that works :cool:

I can never decide how tight to cinch my belt! When I do it super tight, breathing becomes a major problem during the sets, so I tend to go a little loser then try to puff my stomach out while squatting.

[triplewhammy]

Is this MRI black powder you're referring to? Actually the worst product I've ever tried... my sample made me super red and splotchy, with little energy and a whole lot of itchiness. Not sure what I was allergic to in the product. Novem is still my go to for a simple formula that works :cool:

I can never decide how tight to cinch my belt! When I do it super tight, breathing becomes a major problem during the sets, so I tend to go a little loser then try to puff my stomach out while squatting. Yeah MRI Black Powder. I wouldn't buy a full tub of it, just have a few samples.

I love my Lever Belt because once it's screwed into place it gives the same fit each and every time. Beautiful.

[triplewhammy]

Today's workout was just "ok." Hit up Shoulders/Triceps/Calves and I put in a TON of volume and had great stamina but my strength is taking a hit on HS Shoulder Press. Got 4pps x 8. Not a huge drop yet but just enough that I felt like I can do better at this point. No real reason why, just didn't have it in me to squeak out a couple extra reps. Ah well.

[triplewhammy]

Nice workout, I got squats today as well, brb doubling up my caffeine pre workout.. No doubt man, Legs are brutal. I have a great feeling of accomplishment when it's over but before the workout I'm just not looking forward to it LOL!