Kaizen - Shazriki's log to continuous improvement [Archive] - Page 6

Shazriki

08-25-2011, 02:23 PM

August 25 2011

Got my morning cardio session in early again, a stint on the stationary bike - always find that harder than the crosstrainer or running, but meh, got the job done. Came home to eat and bum around for a bit and spent the afternoon at the beach. Did some bird watching (;)) and reading, all while getting that tan going. Luckily I've got caribbean genetics in my so I can sit in the sun for as long as I want without getting burned, it rocks.

Was also pretty stoked to make one of Jeff Alberts' protein cakes using casein instead of whey. As I mentioned in a previous post, it's all about the amount of water. In the case of casein, less of it! My 2nd attempt I added enough water to get pancake batter consistency, but again the end product came out a bit too runny. 3rd attempt I went for cake batter consistency and it came out perfectly. Like a really thick fudge brownie cake thing. Was awesome with a bit of whipped cream.

Finally, I've decided to stop using my BMF for the remainder of my time here in Spain. Aside from the odd game of tennis here and there my routine is pretty much set, so I don't expect too much variance in NEAT and random exercise. No point in wearing the device if I know the information is no longer unique. However, when I get back to the UK I'll strap it back on for a week or two just to get an idea of my approximate maintenance there.

Morning weight 201.4 - new low

Liking the new trend, hope it continues

~The Workout~

Stationary bike 400 cals burned in ~38 mins

~The Eats~

Not pictured: broccoli, proats

Fried eggs, sausages, turkey breast and toast

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110825-IMGP0276.jpg

Zucchini, mushroom and turkey stirfry with eggplant fries

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110825-IMGP0283.jpg

Fudge brownie protein cakes

2nd attempt - semi fail but better than the one posted yesterday

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110825-IMGP0278.jpg

3rd attempt - success

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110825-IMGP0282.jpg

Macros 223P/276C/75F = 2671 cals

Shazriki

08-26-2011, 01:55 PM

26 August 2011

Good workout today, managed to push an extra rep out of my bench press and rows, and got some good calf work in. I've been really loving fasted training lately, the extra adrenaline keeps me pumped and focused throughout the workout. I have a great routine now: have a large cup of coffee, mix up my xtend, have a shot of espresso then out the door feeling like I can conquer the world. Love that!

My mother offered to take me out to this new buffet place which is primarily asian cuisine but also does churrasco (Argentina) and Italian food. It's been a while since we've eaten out together (we used to do it 3-4 times weekly, but obviously these days that's not really conducive to my goals) so it was nice. I was somewhat restrained at the buffet, I mainly went for meat and carby stuff as it was a workout day, but in general I just enjoyed myself. To compensate I just had a tuna salad and some cottage cheese for dinner (to the tune of ~600 cals) so I'd guess I'm still under maintenance for today. But if not, meh. :p

Oh and I'm seriously excited for tomorrow morning. My mother has been seeing this physiotherapist for massage therapy since she's been playing a lot of tennis lately, and she asked if I wanted a session with her (the physio). My posterior chain has been getting a battering with all the squatting so I'm hoping she can do some wonders to my back tomorrow. Either way: one hour of massage is going to rock. Probably going to hit a PR on monday now :p

inb4happyending

Morning weight 200.2 - new low

Probably another water shift due to lowered carbs, but hey if I'm in the 190's by next week I wouldn't say no.

~The Workout~

Squats 240.9 x 5 x 3
*
BB Bench Press 180.4 x 6 x 3 PR added rep
*
BB row 180.4 x 6 x 3
*
Rotary Calf 121 x 12 + 5,5,5,5,5,5
*
Seated Ham curl 159.5 x 10 + 3,3,3,3

~The Eats~

Just some eats from the buffet:

Various sushi

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110826-P1020737.jpg

Pizza, churrasco, peas, arrabiata pasta with squid (I think)

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110826-P1020738.jpg

Various dim sum, szechuan chicken, malaysian fried rice, seaweed salad, muscle with some sort of pico de gallo

Did NOT eat that pink thing when I realized it was some sort of kid's dessert filled with dry nutella... just no...

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110826-P1020740.jpg

Stir-fried broccoli and red pepper, Char Siu ribs, fried noodles, some sort of sweet'n'sour salad

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110826-P1020741.jpg

Macros 3000-3200 cals for the day I guess, I don't really estimate too much when I go out, just try and make good choices, make sure I get a little fiber etc.

oats_addict

08-26-2011, 06:27 PM

Feeling you on the BMF man. When the free subscription runs out, I think I might sell mine. Interesting gadget and good to know as a back up, but once you're in a routine, whats the point, so to speak.
What do you mean by the info not being unique? You thinking that it is all just generic calculations etc?

Good to see your weight has shifted man, water retention sucks!
Although I dont weigh myself in the mornings etc, but at the gym last night, I weighed in at 83.6kg, compared to the usual 84.8-85kg at similar times. Hopefully thats a kg lost and not just a fluctuation. Wont know for another month or so my true weight.

I have never done fasted workouts, only fasted cardio - mainly swimming, just dont think I could crack them.

Shazriki

08-27-2011, 12:13 AM

[QUOTE=oats_addict;741215893]Feeling you on the BMF man. When the free subscription runs out, I think I might sell mine. Interesting gadget and good to know as a back up, but once you're in a routine, whats the point, so to speak.
What do you mean by the info not being unique? You thinking that it is all just generic calculations etc?

Good to see your weight has shifted man, water retention sucks!
Although I dont weigh myself in the mornings etc, but at the gym last night, I weighed in at 83.6kg, compared to the usual 84.8-85kg at similar times. Hopefully thats a kg lost and not just a fluctuation. Wont know for another month or so my true weight.

I have never done fasted workouts, only fasted cardio - mainly swimming, just dont think I could crack them.[/QUOTE

I was thinking about dropping mine when the free trial runs out, but remembered that in my exciement I signed up for a year when I first bought it. No biggie though, always a useful tool to have if I want to see how many calories burned doing an unusual activity (plus $60 over the course of a year doesn't really sting).

What I really meant by unique was that from day to day my calorie burns aren't really changing, i.e. I've settled into a routine. The armband is coming up with the same numbers more or less so no need to keep wearing it for it to keep telling me the same thing. Nah I still the the device is more complex than that and I do think it's pretty accurate but you do need to be aware of the variance.

Tbh if you dropped 1.2kg'ish some of that should be fat, obviously some water shift but the main reason you got flushed is because you're in deficit. That's what I like to think anyway :) I have to say you're keeping a level head considering you can only weigh yourself in the gym. I typically gain 2-3kg over the course of the day with food weight etc. so that would really mess with my head.

I think fasted training only really works if you're used to IF (I know there are people who train fasted and don't IF). Otherwise you might get hunger pangs while training which will just interfere with your focus.

Shazriki

08-27-2011, 01:58 PM

26 August 2011

So I went to the physio this morning and boy did she ever work me over. I told her to work on my calves, quads, hamstrings and back/shoulders. Little did I know a proper deep tissue massage is actually pretty painful, and as she was explaining to me, the reason it was so painful was due to the tension in my muscles... a situation not helped by the fact that I don't do any stretching post workout (I always thought my walk home was good enough). Anyway, once she got to my back she really turned it up a notch and I have this to show for it:

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110827-P1020745.jpg

This is what happens when a ~60kg woman leans with her entire body on her knuckles and then rubs up and down your back. Quads also got hit badly, but I knew they were going to be a bad one since they've been getting hit the hardest these last months.

Was feeling pretty sore after my session so I delayed my cardio until the evening, then came home to walk the dog. Pretty wiped out now, going to put Thor on the tube and pass out :)

Morning weight 201.4

~The Workout~

Crossramp 400 cals burned in 31:32

~The Eats~

Not pictured: cottage cheese and blueberries

Tuna-avocado salad

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110827-IMGP0285.jpg

XF Cinnamon Roll Proats with blueberries, bananas and whipped cream

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110827-IMGP0290.jpg

Turkey breast, corn on the cob, baked beans, and broccoli (brotastic)

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110827-IMGP0291.jpg

New flavor: Haagen-Dazs Chocolate, Pralines, and Caramel

Been a while since I've eaten HD. Basically this one is a very solid belgian-chocolate milk flavor generously interspersed with salty caramel and nutty pralines (as the name implies). Everything blends together very well, partly due to the fact that there is on "clumping" of mix-ins, they are finely dispersed so that you get a bit of everything in every bite. 10/10 for me.

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110827-IMGP0292.jpg

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110827-IMGP0293.jpg

Macros 220P/275C/76F = 2664 cals

Back on track after yesterdays lunch time feasting.

oats_addict

08-27-2011, 03:43 PM

I was thinking about dropping mine when the free trial runs out, but remembered that in my exciement I signed up for a year when I first bought it. No biggie though, always a useful tool to have if I want to see how many calories burned doing an unusual activity (plus $60 over the course of a year doesn't really sting).

What I really meant by unique was that from day to day my calorie burns aren't really changing, i.e. I've settled into a routine. The armband is coming up with the same numbers more or less so no need to keep wearing it for it to keep telling me the same thing. Nah I still the the device is more complex than that and I do think it's pretty accurate but you do need to be aware of the variance.

Tbh if you dropped 1.2kg'ish some of that should be fat, obviously some water shift but the main reason you got flushed is because you're in deficit. That's what I like to think anyway :) I have to say you're keeping a level head considering you can only weigh yourself in the gym. I typically gain 2-3kg over the course of the day with food weight etc. so that would really mess with my head.

I think fasted training only really works if you're used to IF (I know there are people who train fasted and don't IF). Otherwise you might get hunger pangs while training which will just interfere with your focus.

Haha signing up to a year was tempting to me, but I think I will get rid of mine for sure. its not much over the year, but I doubt ill wear it every day when. like you said, it will be chucking up the same numbers most of the time.
Yeah dont think ill be trying IF anytime soon, cant bare the thought of going without food ha.

Yeah WRT the whole scale situation, I think I have just got used to not having access to it, so the mirror is my only true way of seeing any gain/loss. Just accepted it, but I guess I am actually looking forward to having access to them again. Hope I dont get anal about them like I did before though.
Your squats numbers are quality man, very impressed. Are you still with 3DMJ?

New flavor: Haagen-Dazs Chocolate, Pralines, and Caramel

This came out in the UK about a week or so before I flew out here. Phenomenal flavour.

Shazriki

08-27-2011, 04:46 PM

Haha signing up to a year was tempting to me, but I think I will get rid of mine for sure. its not much over the year, but I doubt ill wear it every day when. like you said, it will be chucking up the same numbers most of the time.
Yeah dont think ill be trying IF anytime soon, cant bare the thought of going without food ha.

Yea.. I jumped the gun a bit but w/e :p IFing can be adjusted to fit any preference of "first meal timing." For me, breakfast was always a meal that I thought I needed to have but didn't enjoy that much (unless it was a full fry up or something), but it was always lunch and dinner where things got serious. So skipping breakfast while transitioning into the new eating pattern was very easy. Also I was just starting an EC stack at the time so hunger was in the bucket anyway.

Yeah WRT the whole scale situation, I think I have just got used to not having access to it, so the mirror is my only true way of seeing any gain/loss. Just accepted it, but I guess I am actually looking forward to having access to them again. Hope I dont get anal about them like I did before though.
Your squats numbers are quality man, very impressed. Are you still with 3DMJ?

The scale doesn't have to be a big deal. I just wake up, have a slash, hop on, take note and carry on. I don't even worry about it if I have a BM or not :p I think you'll be fine with the scale, mentally this cut should be different for you since you're coming off a bulk, and know you've done your body some good.

Thanks for the compliments bro, it's funny because I was JUST posting in your log about how I'm jelly of your pressing digits! Not with 3DMJ for the moment but I will probably be getting in touch with Eric towards the end of the year to draft up a game plan for the first half of 2012. I sent an email to the BNBF a couple of days ago about competition dates, no response yet. Assuming the 2012 dates are similar to this year we're looking at mid-ish june for the competition of the year, leaving me plenty of time (I think) for a 8-12 week (lean) gaining phase before beginning my cut.

This came out in the UK about a week or so before I flew out here. Phenomenal flavour.

OFF THE CHAIN good.

brendbro

08-27-2011, 11:32 PM

Dexter3000

08-28-2011, 12:30 AM

Holy eats batman! I am mirrin that sushi hard!!

So let me get this straight Shaz:
- new low in weight
- PR in the gym
- incredible eats every day

oh, plus that bad ass massage..

I'd say you're #winning bro.

I have been thinking about going to a chiropractor, but I'm not sure what they will actually do and if it will help me. There's also a physio therapist nearby, might take a look and see if I can use some. Sometimes I feel I need someone to give a hard/deep massage you like had, to get things straightened out or something. Hard to explain :)

Shazriki

08-28-2011, 02:47 AM

bloody hell, lots to catch up on...

pics looking great! the increase of strength was enormous too! inspiring stuff

anything you'll do differently come next bulk?

btw how do you do your proats? they always look so damn good! (not to mention the rest of your food ;))

Thanks mate! I just posted in yours about your new back pics, great minds think alike haha!

For my next bulk I will probably do two things differently: I'll try a new program (leaning heavily on either Lyle's generic bulk with some myo-rep principles thrown in OR a Westside template). There's nothing wrong with my current program, but I feel the need to experiment with something else for a few months to see how the gains compare. I know that at my current development I can handle high frequency training, but maybe I'll respond even better to something else.

Nutritionally, I'll also take the BMFs readings with a grain of salt, and probably eat at what the device says is my maintenance and adjust from there. I put on a bit of excess fluff at a faster rate after using it, so the take home lesson here is that the BMF is not gospel :p

Proats are always 120ml + some water (don't measure). If I go for a combination of protein powders then I'll add enough water to get the oats swimming, if it's just one scoop then usually just enough to cover the oats and then a bit more. Also add in cinnamon + sweetener to taste (I like cinnamon with everything). Microwave for about 3 mins on high, mix in protein, and then maybe another minute in the micro if it's not quite as thick as I like it. I eat them everyday now, I actually do get withdrawal symptoms if I don't.

Holy eats batman! I am mirrin that sushi hard!!

So let me get this straight Shaz:
- new low in weight
- PR in the gym
- incredible eats every day

oh, plus that bad ass massage..

I'd say you're #winning bro.

I have been thinking about going to a chiropractor, but I'm not sure what they will actually do and if it will help me. There's also a physio therapist nearby, might take a look and see if I can use some. Sometimes I feel I need someone to give a hard/deep massage you like had, to get things straightened out or something. Hard to explain :)

Yes yes and yes sir, progress is sweet so far and I'm pretty happy. Weight is coming back down after the friday bloat so next week should hold some GOOD progress.

And I know what you mean about "getting things straightened" out. That's exactly how I felt, like I needed someone to just move things around and readjust slightly. I think chiropractors will do more with your bones and joints then they will with the actual muscle (and probably more expensive too). Just go to a physio and let them pound you like a steak (no homo) :p

bigjimmy123

08-28-2011, 05:36 AM

Wow awesome stuff Shaz srsly jelly of your eats you seem to be so creative when it comes to the kitchen, need to work on my food skills and bring them up to scratch I think.

Know what you mean about proats I have to have them everyday now or else I just feel sad lol, also they are just so filling that even if I am starving it will keep me satiated for ages. How many oats do you tend to use?

I have just ordered a BMF myself as just want to get an idea (plus got it cheap) of what my burn is etc so I can continue with my bulk with a bit more info to go on. Did just get a nice little fat bump up to 60g though which will be fun. So if I am bulking would you recommend eating at what maintenance is and then adjusting from there?

I am trying to have a go at a new eating schedule actually:

Meal 1 - BCAA
PWO - 30% of kcals
3hrs later 10% of kcals
3hrs later 30% of kcals
Supper - 30% of kcals

This is because I work out first thing and feel bad if I don't eat straight away after, but then I try to save as many of my kcals as I can for the evening as there is nothing worse than going to bed hungry.
I have never tried Lyle's GB but did about 8 weeks of WSB and even though it may have just been newbie gains I certainly saw my strength go up. However, WSB def has a technique of its own with the speed though which I don't believe I mastered

Shazriki

08-28-2011, 11:30 AM

^^ Thank Jimmy :) I pretty much have bb.com to thank for reigniting my passion for food and cooking. For proats 99.999% of the time it's 100g of oats. I cannot handle small bowls of proats, I'd rather eat something else. Sometimes I will go for 80-90g if my macros are full up, but that's raaaaare :p

Good stuff on the BMF, you should find the information useful and you might be surprised that you burn more/less than you think. How you eat to the numbers depends on how different they are from your current intake. In your case if BMF shows considerably higher burns I would probably "reverse diet" into maintenance according to what the device says, and then do a 200-300 cal surplus to ensure lean gains. (That's how I'll do it in the future)

Your meal timings look solid if that works for you. I too prefer having two large meals per day with a couple of random "large snacks" just to make sure my hunger doesn't go nutso, so go for it :) Yea a part of WSB that attract me are the dynamic effort days, creating tension in the muscle using "lighter" weights and training your nervous system for explosive effort. (that's my understanding of it)

vitornoob

08-28-2011, 11:37 AM

bigjimmy123

08-28-2011, 12:40 PM

I have been reading a lot about Jim Wendler recently and was wondering if you had given 5/3/1 a thought? As have heard lots of good things.

Dexter3000

08-28-2011, 01:18 PM

That's what I wanted to ask you as well, how is LX working for ya?

Shazriki

08-28-2011, 02:08 PM

Uhh, Chocolate, Praline and Caramel, must try this one...i had only Praline and Creams...pretty good!

btw, looking foward to see your progress, how is going the LX?

good luck, man...always looking here! (:

Try it dude, you won't regret it! Will post my progress just before I go back to the UK.
About LX see below!

I have been reading a lot about Jim Wendler recently and was wondering if you had given 5/3/1 a thought? As have heard lots of good things.

I've heard of the program but outside of that don't know too much about it. Got any links since I've actually been meaning to read up on it?

That's what I wanted to ask you as well, how is LX working for ya?

I've been taking my LX daily as directed, but other than that I can't say much about it. I mean, the whole idea is that it's a non-stim fat burner, which means there shouldn't really be anything for me to notice. I will say, however, that I haven't had any of the side effects that some people have reported. The most common one I've seen is joint soreness and yea, no probs there.

bigjimmy123

08-28-2011, 02:23 PM

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/how_to_build_pure_strength

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=112382761&page=1

These are the 2 I have read anyway but he seems to have a huge following and is v respected

Shazriki

08-28-2011, 02:25 PM

28 August 2011

Successful rest day today. Aside from walking the dog a couple of times and cleaning the BBQ/pool nothing was done except catching up on sopranos episodes and writing my internship report (which is no submitted to my uni - whoop). Calves and back were pretty sore following the massage yesterday, but I actually feel pretty comfortable tonight and should feel really good in the morning after another good night's sleep.

Looking forward to some heavier weight on db press and skullcrushers tomorrow!

Morning weight 200.8

moving back down from bloat

~The Eats~

Not pictured: proats, quark sludge

Baguette slices with brie and blue cheese cream cheese, tomatoes

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110828-IMGP0294.jpg

Horse, chicken, and baked potatoes with baked beans

I think I'm getting pretty close to grill mastery...

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110828-IMGP0296.jpg

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110828-IMGP0298.jpg

Macros 243P/278C/61F = 2633 cals

When I weighed out both the horse and chicken it was clear I was going to blow way past my protein, so I just decided to drop my fats to make room. Was dying for some good grilled food.

snrygo

08-28-2011, 03:40 PM

hey shaz, what's your base recipe for proats?

brendbro

08-28-2011, 09:21 PM

^^^ how's the horse taste?

Proats are always 120ml + some water (don't measure). If I go for a combination of protein powders then I'll add enough water to get the oats swimming, if it's just one scoop then usually just enough to cover the oats and then a bit more. Also add in cinnamon + sweetener to taste (I like cinnamon with everything). Microwave for about 3 mins on high, mix in protein, and then maybe another minute in the micro if it's not quite as thick as I like it. I eat them everyday now, I actually do get withdrawal symptoms if I don't

For proats 99.999% of the time it's 100g of oats. I cannot handle small bowls of proats, I'd rather eat something else. Sometimes I will go for 80-90g if my macros are full up, but that's raaaaare :p

Sounds very similar to how I make mine, and I too get withdrawal symptoms if I don't have proats, just love 'em too much!

Btw - 120g oats everytime :cool:

jzpowahz

08-28-2011, 09:35 PM

Loving this log :)

I've never even tried more than 60g of proats at a time as that usually leaves me FULL as. You guys are hardcore :P

Shazriki

08-29-2011, 01:03 AM

hey shaz, what's your base recipe for proats?

Hey dude, as listed above (sort of over two posts :p)

100g oats
120ml milk
water to desired pre microwave consistency (depends on how much pro powder you're using)
cinnamon + sweetener to taste

Microwave oats with milk and water for about 3 mins on high, put in mix-ins, microwave for another 1-2 mins. BAM.

^^^ how's the horse taste?

Sounds very similar to how I make mine, and I too get withdrawal symptoms if I don't have proats, just love 'em too much!

Btw - 120g oats everytime :cool:

Horse is like a mixture of lamb and beef in my book - and chewier than either of them (probably since it's such a muscular animal). Like, overcook a horse steak and you will have a sore jaw after the meal. Try it if you can get past the "animal too noble to eat" stuff :p

Also it is strangely the cheapest red meat here in Spain. Color me surprised.

Loving this log :)

I've never even tried more than 60g of proats at a time as that usually leaves me FULL as. You guys are hardcore :P

Thanks my dude! My personal best with proats was 150g in overnight oats but yea I'm no furious pete :o There are other ways to get carbs out there too ;)

vitornoob

08-29-2011, 01:06 AM

Nhum, grill master on the way!

btw, started LX today....lets see if it has something good to bulking or is just marketing

Keep hard, man!

oats_addict

08-29-2011, 03:55 AM

Sounds very similar to how I make mine, and I too get withdrawal symptoms if I don't have proats, just love 'em too much!

Btw - 120g oats everytime :cool:

No comment!!

I get the shakes...

wheathins

08-29-2011, 06:17 AM

brother man, it's been a few days, dunno if you heard but we had a bit of a hurricane run through my parts which kept me off the boards but god damnit you haven't let up one bit! Congrats on the weight lows, the PR's and the kitchen domination.

1. what's the recipe on that protein cake thingy from a few days ago?
2. Are you incorporating weekly refeeds at this point in your cut yet, keeping a steady deficit or doing a lower cal/higher cal on lifting days/non lifting days?
3. Your grilling skills are SHARP, son! A man after my own taste with dat dere rare steak - just when I think I've completed my list of things I'd like to eat post contest, I come to this thread and you remind me that there is so much more.

Keep it up brotha!

snrygo

08-29-2011, 07:26 AM

Hey dude, as listed above (sort of over two posts :p)

Thanks my dude! My personal best with proats was 150g in overnight oats but yea I'm no furious pete :o There are other ways to get carbs out there too ;)

thanks for the recipe. also, my PR on OOs was 300g ;) note to self, do not try to eat vegetables w/ the meal

Shazriki

08-29-2011, 02:32 PM

Nhum, grill master on the way!

btw, started LX today....lets see if it has something good to bulking or is just marketing

Keep hard, man!

I'm not sure how it'll work for bulking, it might limit fat gains somewhat but I dunno. Like I said you probably won't notice anything happening. Thanks bro, I'll keep trucking!

No comment!!

I get the shakes...

Too true...

brother man, it's been a few days, dunno if you heard but we had a bit of a hurricane run through my parts which kept me off the boards but god damnit you haven't let up one bit! Congrats on the weight lows, the PR's and the kitchen domination.

1. what's the recipe on that protein cake thingy from a few days ago?
2. Are you incorporating weekly refeeds at this point in your cut yet, keeping a steady deficit or doing a lower cal/higher cal on lifting days/non lifting days?
3. Your grilling skills are SHARP, son! A man after my own taste with dat dere rare steak - just when I think I've completed my list of things I'd like to eat post contest, I come to this thread and you remind me that there is so much more.

Keep it up brotha!

Good to hear from you Matt! I didn't actually hear about this hurricane until you mentioned it, I guess I need to watch the new more often lol. I trust you weren't affected too badly other than connectivity issues. Also, hurricanes in New Jersey? Global warming is a b!tch.

1. http://www.3dmusclejourney.com/recipes-sludge-cake.php
2. No refeeds yet, I'm just cycling macros on training days and off days. More carbs on training days for performance, more fats on rest days for danky danky and hormonal balance. May do a refeed next week IF I feel my energy really dropping. But so far taking it easy on weekends and just getting enough rest is keeping me pretty happy.
3. Thanks man. Now that I think about it after months of dieting one of the sweetest prospects must be going to a bbq/cookout and not giving a sh!t about what you're eating. Steaks, beer and potato salad, nomsayin?

thanks for the recipe. also, my PR on OOs was 300g ;) note to self, do not try to eat vegetables w/ the meal

Lol, fiber-hadoken-ultrabloat?

snrygo

08-29-2011, 02:53 PM

Lol, fiber-hadoken-ultrabloat?

fiber really has no effect on me as far as amount. but the sheer volume of food at once was insane and needless to say, i lost a few pounds the next morning ;)

Shazriki

08-29-2011, 03:03 PM

29 August 2011

Another solid day in the books. Woke up this morning feeling incredibly well rested, with no muscle soreness whatsoever. The only residual pain I had from the massage was some bruised skin, but nothing deeper in the muscle. Workout went well too. Since I was feeling good I decided to up the weight on my squat (which was strong today). I actually felt as if I had more gas in the tank, but I realized that since I still have to nail two other workouts in the week I should ease up slightly. In any case I can tell that this routine I'm using now still has plenty of milk left in it, and if I was still bulking I'd probably be able to hit PRs at least once a week.

However, I have been thinking about making one change, and that's substituting lat pulldowns for chins. I just feel as if I'm not making any progress with chins at the moment, and since my bodyweight will be decreasing on a weekly basis, I'll start having to add weight to get the same level of stimulation anyway. I'm thinking maybe 2-3 sets in the 8-12 rep range. If anyone has any suggestions that would be great.

Also, is there any general indication for when someone should get a lifting belt? I realize it'll be different for anyone, but I guess a pretty good sign would be when you feel the posterior chain getting overly battered while squatting? Again, any help here would be appreciated.

Morning weight 200.6

moving back down

~The Workout~

Squats 246.4 x 5 x 3 PR
*
DB Bench Press 66'x x 8 x 3 PR
*
Chins BW x 10 + 3,3,1
*
EZ bar skullcrushers 72.6 x 11,9,8 PR
*
Stir the pot 13,7

~The Eats~

Not pictured: subway footlong

Was on the go for much of the day, so eats are pretty adhoc and hastily put together. Just used subway's website to guesstimate macros for my sandwich. Good enough for me.

Quark, ON Vanilla casein, cocoa powder, Crunchy nut, Nesquik, Cap'n Crunch PB

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110829-IMGP0299-1.jpg

Pork sausage, mushrooms, onions, rice

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110829-IMGP0300-1.jpg

ON Vanilla and Dymatize Fudge Brownie proats

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110829-IMGP0302.jpg

Macros 212P/382C/51F = 2835 cals

Webber91

08-30-2011, 01:28 AM

You grilled a horse...

THAT'S FREAKIN' AWESOME!

I'm jelly as hell bro, I'd substitute some of my roo for horse any day.

/backtolurking.

Shazriki

08-30-2011, 02:31 AM

fiber really has no effect on me as far as amount. but the sheer volume of food at once was insane and needless to say, i lost a few pounds the next morning ;)

You must've been like

http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/7/24/fullcatisfull128613928749784140.jpg

You grilled a horse...

THAT'S FREAKIN' AWESOME!

I'm jelly as hell bro, I'd substitute some of my roo for horse any day.

/backtolurking.

Haha yes horse is awesome. And there's always plenty of it at the shop because some people seem to have issues with eating it :p

Shame, because the macros are excellent! ~20P and under 3g of fat per 100g. Yes please!

Do they sell horse in Aus?

foodpr0n

08-30-2011, 02:41 AM

brendbro

08-30-2011, 03:07 AM

66jzmstr

08-30-2011, 07:01 AM

Gotta make a note to not look at that pork sausage, onion, mushroom on rice photo during my fasting window. *salivates* :D

Shazriki

08-30-2011, 02:53 PM

Horse is Taboo/illegal to eat here mate ;)
Roo is fine :p

Pulldowns ftw too. Arguably better lat stimulation and easier to rack up volume on myo's IME.
Camera produces sexy imagery! First two anyway haha, oats never really 'look' appealing.

Haha good to know, I wouldn't want to visit australia and get it taken off me. Then again, I probably wouldn't make it past customs with my clothes if I actually visited the country, you guys are strict! (if the shows are to be believed)

Yea I think pulldowns are going to be the way forward from now on. Will probably test out my max on the exercise just to workout what weight I should use for high volume.

You no like oat porn?

respectfully disagree, the last image is my favourite :D

Right on, oat porn!

Gotta make a note to not look at that pork sausage, onion, mushroom on rice photo during my fasting window. *salivates* :D

Simple but tasty!

Shazriki

08-30-2011, 03:08 PM

30 August 2011

Not much to report from today. Cardio was easy and the rest of the day was spent chilling. I must say having this focus on lifting has made my time here in Spain much more enjoyable than before. In previous years I would get bored throughout the day and spend my time sweating my ass off while gaming (it's way too hot to just sit inside all day in front of the computer). Nowadays I'm more willing to go out and do things, and I actually enjoy it.

On another note probably won't be using the "crossramp" machine for cardio anymore. I know it sounds crazy, but it's just too easy. Compared to the effort I need to put into burning 400 cals on the bike or crosstrainer, there's just no way the crossramp is giving me a similar burn. Call me masochistic, but I need a little bit of pain in order to feel as if I'm getting somewhere while doing cardio.

Morning weight 200.6

Third day in the 200's, I think we're going to see a new low tomorrow

~The Workout~

Crosstrainer 400 cals burned in 38:55

~The Eats~

Not pictured: proats

Ground turkey, broccoli, mushroom and red onion pasta bake

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110830-IMGP0303.jpg

Chicken and sausage salad

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110830-IMGP0307.jpg

Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough

Decent vanilla ice cream with salty-sweet cookie dough and a generous amount of chocolate chips. Cookie dough tastes fresh and genuine if you let the ice cream thaw out enough, very chewy too. The vanilla ice cream could have a stronger vanilla flavor, but that might detract from the cookie dough. Basically, the cookie dough IS the ice cream, and while eating I wonder to myself if I should just make some cookie dough and eat it by itself. All in all 7.5/10 for me.

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110830-IMGP0309.jpg

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110830-IMGP0310.jpg

Macros 221P/271C/75F = 2643 cals

66jzmstr

08-30-2011, 06:12 PM

On spread, but props for getting Ben & Jerry's in on your cut! :D

Dexter3000

08-31-2011, 01:50 AM

Not much to report from today. Cardio was easy and the rest of the day was spent chilling. I must say having this focus on lifting has made my time here in Spain much more enjoyable than before. In previous years I would get bored throughout the day and spend my time sweating my ass off while gaming (it's way too hot to just sit inside all day in front of the computer). Nowadays I'm more willing to go out and do things, and I actually enjoy it.

On another note probably won't be using the "crossramp" machine for cardio anymore. I know it sounds crazy, but it's just too easy. Compared to the effort I need to put into burning 400 cals on the bike or crosstrainer, there's just no way the crossramp is giving me a similar burn. Call me masochistic, but I need a little bit of pain in order to feel as if I'm getting somewhere while doing cardio.

I know EXACTLY what you mean Shaz, I feel the same way. It's not that I was lazy before, but I'd rather stay inside and not get tired if you know what I mean. With working out and feeling better, more fit, etc. you automatically are attracted to being more active during the day. I think it's a vicious circle.. good stuff!

I can also relate to the cardio stuff.. although a nice and easy not-triggering-heart-attack-run can be enjoyable as well :)

Decent vanilla ice cream with salty-sweet cookie dough and a generous amount of chocolate chips. Cookie dough tastes fresh and genuine if you let the ice cream thaw out enough, very chewy too. The vanilla ice cream could have a stronger vanilla flavor, but that might detract from the cookie dough. Basically, the cookie dough IS the ice cream, and while eating I wonder to myself if I should just make some cookie dough and eat it by itself. All in all 7.5/10 for me.

Okay this may be a stupid question, but do you down an entire bucket when you eat it? How many cals are in there? I'm not really an ice-cream guy but definitely mirrin anything with cookie/dough/chocolate hah.

Keep up the good work buddy, you'll be sub 200 soon.

Shazriki

08-31-2011, 02:15 PM

On spread, but props for getting Ben & Jerry's in on your cut! :D

Thanks man! It's an important part of my cutting strategy :cool:

I know EXACTLY what you mean Shaz, I feel the same way. It's not that I was lazy before, but I'd rather stay inside and not get tired if you know what I mean. With working out and feeling better, more fit, etc. you automatically are attracted to being more active during the day. I think it's a vicious circle.. good stuff!

I can also relate to the cardio stuff.. although a nice and easy not-triggering-heart-attack-run can be enjoyable as well :)

Okay this may be a stupid question, but do you down an entire bucket when you eat it? How many cals are in there? I'm not really an ice-cream guy but definitely mirrin anything with cookie/dough/chocolate hah.

Keep up the good work buddy, you'll be sub 200 soon.

It's crazy isn't it? I mean, it's not like it has to be anything special, but even going for a walk is at times more appealing to me these days than watching TV. Also, this time last year one of my first priorities upon arriving home from university would have been to fire up my gaming desktop and spend hours on it. I haven't turned it on YET and I've been here a month lol.

LISS just takes to long for me. I can only MISS otherwise I get TOO bored... it's vicious.

@the ice cream haha no way dude, an entire tub of B&J's is like 60g of fat... I can barely fit that into my rest day macros, let alone training day :o Nah I usually go for like 100-150g, enough to satisfy me and enjoy the flavor (ice cream isn't filling at all unless you have like an entire pint at once). Sub-200 today!

Shazriki

08-31-2011, 02:32 PM

31 August 2011

Went into the gym today with PR's on the brain. I saw this powerlifting video in Eric Helms offseason log and was all fired up. I was in a "increase reps PR" mood as opposed to "increase weight PR" mood. Mentally I also knew I had it in my since I was really well rested AND I knew I would be deloading my shoulder press, so there would be some energy left in me to pound RDLs. Sure enough, banged out extra reps on front squats and RDLs, and got LOADS of volume out of my myo rep exercises today. Shoulders were blasted out after side laterals. I was loving the pump so much I almost did a drop set after my last myo-set, but decided against it :p

The rest of the day was spent doing a bit more uni work, nothing too stressful. I even had a mid day nap, which I never do, but today I just felt like it. All I can say is mid-day naps FTMFW. Having no responsibilities rocks.

Morning weight 199.8 - new low

As predicted, boom boom

~The Workout~

Front squats 207.9 x 6 x 3 Rep PR
*
Standing BB OH Press (Deload) 108.9 x 5 x 3
*
RDLs 306.9 x 6 x 2 Rep PR
*
BB Bicep curls 72.6 x 14 + 4,4,4,3
*
DB Lateral raises 26.4's x 11 + 3,3,3,3,3,2

~The Eats~

Not pictured: sludge

Bagel with cream cheese and branston pickle, chicken breast, tomatoes

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110831-IMGP0311.jpg

XF CR proats with apples and blueberries

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110831-IMGP0317.jpg

Sloppy joe with cornbread

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110831-IMGP0313.jpg

Macros 219P/371C/49F = 2801 cals

canuck17

08-31-2011, 06:52 PM

jzpowahz

08-31-2011, 07:12 PM

I see in your goals, your min fat target is about .3g/lb BW. Do you have an upper limit? You seem to be able to get a whole lot more carbs in than me on similar total cals. (I do like my PB though :P) I'm 175lbs and trying to put on weight so similar total cals to you.

brendbro

08-31-2011, 08:19 PM

gave your proats recipe a try (well, close to your recipe:p)... best proats I've had in a while!

sloppy joe looks awesome! Will have to make soon

NICE on the rep PR for front squats, can't imagine hitting PR's like that while dieting :D

Shazriki

09-01-2011, 01:12 AM

Enjoying the thread still bro. Good to see you still pounding away at it all! And gahhh, your food is ridiculous everytime too. Keep it up man, only good is to come in the future with road your travelling down.

Thanks a lot dude glad you're still following and cheers for the kind words! Glad you enjoy the food too.

To be honest I think most of us are traveling down a similar road to a similar end destination, we're all on the success vector! :)

I see in your goals, your min fat target is about .3g/lb BW. Do you have an upper limit? You seem to be able to get a whole lot more carbs in than me on similar total cals. (I do like my PB though :P) I'm 175lbs and trying to put on weight so similar total cals to you.

Good spot, yea I wouldn't like to budge much lower than 50g fat unless I drop carbs a bit more, it would make my diet quite restrictive (goodbye oats, hello more bagels). As for upper limit, do you mean like when I'm bulking? In general on training days I keep fats lower to make more room for carbs and protein, on a diet this amounts to being able to diet on higher carbs, when gaining this just means I minimize the fat gains while in surplus.

Fats are important though! They encourage variety in the diet and obviously have the hormonal benefits. Which is why I've set this diet up loosely based on leangains, cycling high and low fat days. I say loosely because if I was doing it more strictly I would probably increase fats more on off days and decrease carbs a bit more. But so far I'm liking the results and no real decrease in energy/recovery.

At your weight maybe try something like 50-60g fat on training days and fill up the remainder with your preferred combo of protein and carbs?

gave your proats recipe a try (well, close to your recipe:p)... best proats I've had in a while!

sloppy joe looks awesome! Will have to make soon

NICE on the rep PR for front squats, can't imagine hitting PR's like that while dieting :D

Lemme guess, you used more oats? ;) Glad you liked it! How were you cooking your oats before?

When do you get around to making SJ's use this recipe, foodpr0n gave me the link to this site ages ago and this woman is a true visionary

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/04/sloppy-joes/

And thanks man, the beauty of this diet so far is that I don't really feel like I'm dieting! It feels more like "oh I was eating a sh!tload to bulk, and now I'm eating at maintenance" or something like that - so performance in the gym hasn't really been affected. I haven't even considered cutting volume or anything yet. It's great!

Dexter3000

09-01-2011, 02:34 AM

@the ice cream haha no way dude, an entire tub of B&J's is like 60g of fat... I can barely fit that into my rest day macros, let alone training day :o Nah I usually go for like 100-150g, enough to satisfy me and enjoy the flavor (ice cream isn't filling at all unless you have like an entire pint at once). Sub-200 today!

http://www.myfacewhen.net/uploads/10-son-i-am-disappoint.gif

wheathins

09-01-2011, 07:08 AM

haha mid day naps are the shiiitt for sure brotha! A 35 minute nap post work, pre gym is the only thing getting me through my workouts! Now if only I could share the same sentiments regarding having no responsibilities :/ what I'd give to be back in college again you lucky bastard! :D

Congrats on the new low and the monster front squats bro, that's one lift I really want to focus on in the off season - good stuff! Are you doing any cardio at this point yet??

Shazriki

09-01-2011, 07:40 AM

[img]http://www.myfacewhen.net/uploads/10-son-i-am-disappoint.gif[/ig]

Haha what can I say? I like ice cream, but it isn't the be all or the end all for me by any means, I prefer getting fats from other sources (meat, oats, XF UP). If I was more interesting in ice cream, you can be damn sure I would make it happen on a daily basis ;)

haha mid day naps are the shiiitt for sure brotha! A 35 minute nap post work, pre gym is the only thing getting me through my workouts! Now if only I could share the same sentiments regarding having no responsibilities :/ what I'd give to be back in college again you lucky bastard! :D

Congrats on the new low and the monster front squats bro, that's one lift I really want to focus on in the off season - good stuff! Are you doing any cardio at this point yet??

Haha naps are the win! Since I train soon after I wake up in the morning it's not an issue, but damn do I get tired a few hours after eating my postWO meal... especially if I haven't been cramming coffee down. It's cool that you're able to go and have a nap after work though, imagine how tough it would be if it was majorly inconvenient to go home before hitting the gym. I'm assuming you go home, or do you just crash on a bench? :D

Thanks for the kind words dude. Fronts are a lift I thought I would always suck at until I got out of the smith and started doing them properly with a barbell. Accept no substitute!

Cardio is three sessions @ 400 cals burned. I'm now only doing cardio on the crosstrainer and stationary bike. I may try and go for a longer LISS session on saturday using the reclining bike. I'm not going to add anymore cardio sessions until my offday macros go below 2300 cals (if we ever get to that point). I may add +300 cals to my weekly cardio supplement at some point, but so far fat loss still seems to be coming along.

Shazriki

09-01-2011, 01:12 PM

1 September 2011

Man time flies, into September already.. less than a month till I'm back at school hitting the books, seeing old friends, getting up whenever I want to... gonna be good times! Today was just another casual one. Did my cardio in the morning and went down to the beach in the early evening for that "afternoon bronze". Chillin' like a villain.

Morning weight 200

~The Workout~

Crosstrainer 400 cals burned in 36:55

~The Eats~

Not pictured: proats, baked beans, protein puddings

Simple food today:

Scrambled eggs with ground turkey and onions, baked beans, salad with cucumbers and sun dried tomatoes

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110901-IMGP0319.jpg

Ham and cheese sandwiches, baguette with Makrel Salat

For those wondering, "Makrel Salat" is a Danish spread made with mayonnaise, mackerel and tomato paste. It rocks.

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110901-IMGP0322.jpg

Macros 220P/274C/76F = 2660 cals

jzpowahz

09-01-2011, 03:17 PM

Good spot, yea I wouldn't like to budge much lower than 50g fat unless I drop carbs a bit more, it would make my diet quite restrictive (goodbye oats, hello more bagels). As for upper limit, do you mean like when I'm bulking? In general on training days I keep fats lower to make more room for carbs and protein, on a diet this amounts to being able to diet on higher carbs, when gaining this just means I minimize the fat gains while in surplus.

Fats are important though! They encourage variety in the diet and obviously have the hormonal benefits. Which is why I've set this diet up loosely based on leangains, cycling high and low fat days. I say loosely because if I was doing it more strictly I would probably increase fats more on off days and decrease carbs a bit more. But so far I'm liking the results and no real decrease in energy/recovery.

At your weight maybe try something like 50-60g fat on training days and fill up the remainder with your preferred combo of protein and carbs?

See that's my thing, on training days I still end up going a fair bit over that. Say 80-100 as an estimate. That does include 10ml of fish oil that I take daily which is 18g straight up. I am aiming for around 200g P and the rest C. Trying to hit that 400 mark but it's tough while keeping the fat down a bit (and consequently sugar).

Shazriki

09-01-2011, 03:48 PM

See that's my thing, on training days I still end up going a fair bit over that. Say 80-100 as an estimate. That does include 10ml of fish oil that I take daily which is 18g straight up. I am aiming for around 200g P and the rest C. Trying to hit that 400 mark but it's tough while keeping the fat down a bit (and consequently sugar).

What are you using as your CHO sources? Looking at the bro ones we have: sweet potatoes and rice (hardly any fat there). For those who like more variety we got:

pasta
bagels
bread (any kind other than brioche or butter-based breads, use your better judgement ;))
Cereal
Fruit
Low-fat baking using applesauce or low-fat yogurt as an oil substitute.

If you're eating a lot of oats then that could be the problem, as 100g of oats will have a little under 10g of fat, which stacks up quickly if you're using it as your main cho source. Mix it up a bit dude, you could rack up 600g of CHO from bagels alone and be under 25g of fat, easily done ;)

jzpowahz

09-01-2011, 04:04 PM

oats_addict

09-01-2011, 05:11 PM

I'm an oats addict

notsureifsrs

jzpowahz

09-01-2011, 05:13 PM

LOL. And you got my username :P

brendbro

09-01-2011, 05:55 PM

Trillios

09-01-2011, 05:58 PM

In for lurkzors.

Shazriki

09-02-2011, 12:58 AM

Aah yeah, that's it. I'm an oats addict and I quite often have it with natural pb :P

Other regular sources are potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, cereal, wraps & bread. Looks like I might have to keep my oats to just once a day instead of twice if I want to make this 400g carbs. (have to do it at least once haha)

Thanks mate

Haha yea that could be it if you're doing multiple bowls a day (and like me, you enjoy big bowls). Cutting down to one a day will help and jus fill your quota with the other deliciousness we have available.

400g CHO is YOURS! :D

notsureifsrs

inb4copyright

LOL. And you got my username :P

lawsuit? :p

feels good ;) bagels/pasta are your best friend

Bagels are quickly becoming my second addiction. I have enough willpower to realize they're not the best to have on my lower CHO days but almost every workout day need to have at least one!

In for lurkzors.

Welcome brah, glad to have you :) Also another Jersey boy, hi-5!

vitornoob

09-02-2011, 02:24 AM

Trillios

09-02-2011, 02:27 AM

Well half my life growing up was in New York so...high five! lol Jersey ftw for now I guess.

Shazriki

09-02-2011, 04:53 AM

it looks like your horse has done a storm in MEN...haha
do want to try it, just need to find it here

how are the things going on cut? it seems the strength still up, a lot of PR's!
What about your LX, any bad things? i have seen people telling about joint pains and constipation, hope everything is in order

Thanks for the help in my log!

(:

Haha I know, I love the stir it caused. I'm actually going to eat more today lol. Cut is still going fine, in fact today I smashed multiple PRs because motivation was at an all time high. No swings in energy levels yet, but that's definitely because cals are still high.

So far LX has been great, no joint pain or anything. The comment on constipation is interesting but I don't think it really applies to me. I HAVE been going to the bathroom less frequently but that's probably because I'm eating less. Every time I've hit the toilet there haven't been any problems like that.

I am pissing more than an old person who's been kicked in the bladder, but that's because I drink LOAAAAADS when I diet.

Well half my life growing up was in New York so...high five! lol Jersey ftw for now I guess.

Well I haven't lived in New Jersey for about 16 years now, lived there for 5 years as a kid and was the last place in the US I lived before doing the tour of Europe hehe.

beefcake66

09-02-2011, 05:08 AM

how are the things going on cut? it seems the strength still up, a lot of PR's!
What about your LX, any bad things? i have seen people telling about joint pains and constipation, hope everything is in order

I never heard about the constipation while on it... the joint pain I was definitely experiencing though. I was doing the LX/AX/TZ stack for like 10 days before I took a break from life/workingout/dieting/supplements/etc.... My joints were KILLING ME constantly.. I was doing 3/day... and I never even thought constipation was a potential factor, but now that I think of it.... perhaps that was one of my many problems....

Glad to hear it's working well for you so far Shaz!

vitornoob

09-02-2011, 05:58 AM

Haha I know, I love the stir it caused. I'm actually going to eat more today lol. Cut is still going fine, in fact today I smashed multiple PRs because motivation was at an all time high. No swings in energy levels yet, but that's definitely because cals are still high.

So far LX has been great, no joint pain or anything. The comment on constipation is interesting but I don't think it really applies to me. I HAVE been going to the bathroom less frequently but that's probably because I'm eating less. Every time I've hit the toilet there haven't been any problems like that.

I am pissing more than an old person who's been kicked in the bladder, but that's because I drink LOAAAAADS when I diet.

Yeah, glad to hear that is going fine to you

The Constipation could be something related to Green Tea or something related to lack of water, as you said, you are going more in the bathroom...

I never heard about the constipation while on it... the joint pain I was definitely experiencing though. I was doing the LX/AX/TZ stack for like 10 days before I took a break from life/workingout/dieting/supplements/etc.... My joints were KILLING ME constantly.. I was doing 3/day... and I never even thought constipation was a potential factor, but now that I think of it.... perhaps that was one of my many problems....

Glad to hear it's working well for you so far Shaz!

Joint pains are normal with LX, i was reading one topic, where the Driven Sports' crew was saying about doing 3 days with 3 caps per day and 2 days with 2, IF the joint pains are too strong... if not, keep the same dosage...

beefcake66

09-02-2011, 06:03 AM

Joint pains are normal with LX, i was reading one topic, where the Driven Sports' crew was saying about doing 3 days with 3 caps per day and 2 days with 2, IF the joint pains are too strong... if not, keep the same dosage...

Maybe it's cause I'm smaller and a woman, but I definitely don't think I should do 3 caps a day ever again... I have enough joint issues as it is, after a few days on LX I thought I was developing a serious condition (I didn't know LX caused joint pain at the time). I may try 2 a day again sometime, but from the way I felt I'm kind of scared to go back on it lol

Shazriki

09-02-2011, 06:47 AM

I never heard about the constipation while on it... the joint pain I was definitely experiencing though. I was doing the LX/AX/TZ stack for like 10 days before I took a break from life/workingout/dieting/supplements/etc.... My joints were KILLING ME constantly.. I was doing 3/day... and I never even thought constipation was a potential factor, but now that I think of it.... perhaps that was one of my many problems....

Glad to hear it's working well for you so far Shaz!

That's really really strange, I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. When you stopped taking the pills did the joint pain clear up or did it linger for a while? Also what kind of pain was it? Nagging soreness or like a piercing pain (like you're doing quarter squats with super heavy weight)?

Yea thanks Beefy, so far no complaints :)

Yeah, glad to hear that is going fine to you

The Constipation could be something related to Green Tea or something related to lack of water, as you said, you are going more in the bathroom...

Joint pains are normal with LX, i was reading one topic, where the Driven Sports' crew was saying about doing 3 days with 3 caps per day and 2 days with 2, IF the joint pains are too strong... if not, keep the same dosage...

Well if any of the side effects have anything to do with lack of hydration that won't be a problem!

Maybe it's cause I'm smaller and a woman, but I definitely don't think I should do 3 caps a day ever again... I have enough joint issues as it is, after a few days on LX I thought I was developing a serious condition (I didn't know LX caused joint pain at the time). I may try 2 a day again sometime, but from the way I felt I'm kind of scared to go back on it lol

The question is, do you think you need to keep using it? How have your results been since discontinuing use of LX?

beefcake66

09-02-2011, 07:07 AM

That's really really strange, I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. When you stopped taking the pills did the joint pain clear up or did it linger for a while? Also what kind of pain was it? Nagging soreness or like a piercing pain (like you're doing quarter squats with super heavy weight)?

Yea thanks Beefy, so far no complaints :)

The question is, do you think you need to keep using it? How have your results been since discontinuing use of LX?

I would wake up and one of my shoulders would be sore, both my knees instead of my one bad knee would hurt, my hips hurt more than usual... it was a constant nagging pain and sometimes sharp pains. Even my elbows and wrists started bugging me more... I think it completely killed my motivation to lift or do cardio. Everything just hurt constantly.

My joints feel a lot better now that I've been off of it a while, I think it lingered for a couple days.... but I also haven't been lifting or dieting, or doing anything... so no way to judge progress without it at this time. I've been taking backwards leaps of late, it was a rough past week.

Shazriki

09-02-2011, 02:09 PM

I would wake up and one of my shoulders would be sore, both my knees instead of my one bad knee would hurt, my hips hurt more than usual... it was a constant nagging pain and sometimes sharp pains. Even my elbows and wrists started bugging me more... I think it completely killed my motivation to lift or do cardio. Everything just hurt constantly.

My joints feel a lot better now that I've been off of it a while, I think it lingered for a couple days.... but I also haven't been lifting or dieting, or doing anything... so no way to judge progress without it at this time. I've been taking backwards leaps of late, it was a rough past week.

That's seriously rough. Definitely not worth taking it if it affects you that much. Motivation to lift/cardio >>>>> any pill. Hope it's nothing serious that's causing your backtracking. If it's just a feeling of stagnation then maybe you should try a diet break?

Shazriki

09-02-2011, 02:22 PM

2 September 2011

ANOTHER great workout today. This week has been pretty special, for no other reason other than that my motivation has been at all time high. It’s hard not to be motivated. You read people like PBateman’s log with the crazy workouts, Eric Helms starting an exciting off season and dropping knowledge bombs on a regular basis, Matt (wheathins) and Kyle (Webber) so close to killing it on their respective stages. I dunno, I just felt fire up everyday this week to give it my all.

I wasn’t content with my old weights. Every lift had to go up. I wanted more. More weight, and if not more weight, more reps. Anything to make it harder and make me stronger.

Today was no exception, PRs in squats (again) and bench and row. I was apprehensive at first with the bench press, but since correcting my form I’ve become much more comfortable with dealing with attempts at higher weights.

Recovery has also been excellent lately. The physiotherapist who did my massage said that she could tell I do no stretching after training, so on her advice I’m now doing basic stretching for all the major muscle groups after workouts. Nothing crazy, just 20 secs a piece. It’s been doing wonders actually, and I feel silly for not starting before.

This is what I was listening to on the way home, the lyrics just seemed appropriate to the post-workout mood

SFvCx6w_ptE

And this was going through my head while benching:

WJa3eUczYaM

Morning weight 200.4

I went to the bathroom and shifted some weight about an hour after weighing in. In any case I won't be doing anything to my macros until next friday.

~The Workout~

Squats 251.9 x 5 x 3 PR
*
BB Bench Press 185.9 x 5 x 3 PR
*
BB row 185.9 x 5 x 3 PR
*
Rotary Calf raises 110 x 13 + 5,5,5,5
*
Seated Ham curls 121 x 16 + 4,4,4,4

I dropped the weight on both the rotary calf and ham curl today since I'm still working out the ideal position/form on these machines. Suffice it to say that today I nailed it and was really feeling the squeeze in both my calves and hams!

~The Eats~

Not pictured: proats, sludge bowl

Bagels with cinnamon roll sludge and bananas

Polished off the rest of the quark to round the "meal" out

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110902-IMGP0323.jpg

Horse filets with fries and mushrooms

That's 320g of horse meat there, gawd I love IF

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110902-IMGP0325.jpg

Macros 220P/371C/49F = 2805 cals

beefcake66

09-02-2011, 02:58 PM

The older I'm getting the more I'm realizing the importance of stretching - for muscle growth, sports performance, strength, and just feeling good. I'm seriously considering doing yoga at home more and more because of it, and I'm thinking of making a dedicated stretching routine just to help my flexibility. I usually stretch the muscle groups I lift for after my lifting session but nothing crazy...

That steak even looks like horse steak..... is that weird lol. Couldn't eat it myself but power to ya, I hear its nommy :p

That's seriously rough. Definitely not worth taking it if it affects you that much. Motivation to lift/cardio >>>>> any pill. Hope it's nothing serious that's causing your backtracking. If it's just a feeling of stagnation then maybe you should try a diet break?

All last week was definitely a diet break, and I'm still sort of recovering from it but making strides in the right direction each day this week! Going to resume lifting on Monday with a new mindset and program, and planning to have the diet spot on then as well. There was other things going on besides the joint pain and lack of motivation, but that's been taken care of. I want to make some form of progress before my surgery end of September!

Dexter3000

09-03-2011, 12:34 AM

Shazriki

09-03-2011, 12:36 AM

The older I'm getting the more I'm realizing the importance of stretching - for muscle growth, sports performance, strength, and just feeling good. I'm seriously considering doing yoga at home more and more because of it, and I'm thinking of making a dedicated stretching routine just to help my flexibility. I usually stretch the muscle groups I lift for after my lifting session but nothing crazy...

That steak even looks like horse steak..... is that weird lol. Couldn't eat it myself but power to ya, I hear its nommy :p

All last week was definitely a diet break, and I'm still sort of recovering from it but making strides in the right direction each day this week! Going to resume lifting on Monday with a new mindset and program, and planning to have the diet spot on then as well. There was other things going on besides the joint pain and lack of motivation, but that's been taken care of. I want to make some form of progress before my surgery end of September!

I initially waved it off as just another thing to "waste" more time in the gym, but damn, having gotten into it now myself it's like night and day. I agree especially with regards to flexibility. I would never dream of going into a karate session without some stretching before and a cooldown after. Brb waking up with ungodly cramps if you don't :p

Glad to hear your motivation is back on point -> everything else will fall in place once that's sorted! Your knee surgery is in two weeks right? Plenty of time to make some progress. Sure it sounds cliche, but don't wait until tomorrow to accomplish what you can today! /drphil ;)

canuck17

09-03-2011, 02:06 AM

Hey Shaz! Everything still looks on point in here. Literally mirrinnn your foodpron on a daily basis!

I finally got my log up and going...

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=137788213

Hope to have you chime in anytime you can!
Keep bustin it in the gym!

Shazriki

09-03-2011, 07:28 AM

Shazriki

09-03-2011, 03:06 PM

3 September 2011

Another solid day in the books. Went down with my father in the morning to the central market of Alicante to buy some HUGE steaks (750g a piece!) and get some other things. Spent the rest of the early afternoon chilling at home then did a quick cardio session.

Had a couple of glasses of wine with dinner but I fit it into my macros (kind of). Don't expect any funny business on the scale tomorrow. My dad will be making dinner so will be having one of Lyle's famous "free meals" - indian food!

Can't complain about the cut so far. Three weeks in, recovery is better than ever, still hitting PRs, cardio is just a tiny blip on the radar, and fat is coming off!

Morning weight 198.8 - new low

After a high day! Starting to notice deeper vascularity on my arms, most notably the smaller veins that traverse the arm. FTW!

~The Workout~

Crosstrainer 400 cals burned in 37:23

~The Eats~

Not pictured: boring food

I only really got pics of dinner tonight, the rest of the day's food was pretty bro to make room for the gigantic steak (which was grilled)

The raw spread

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110903-IMGP0328-2.jpg

The steak: ~750g (26 oz) top sirloin, grilled

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110903-IMGP0327-2.jpg

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110903-IMGP0332-2.jpg

Yup.. that's a PR for me in terms of steak in one sitting. Still sort of hungry... sigh.

Macros ~246P/172C/89F = 2473 cals + some salad and wine

Shazriki

09-03-2011, 03:12 PM

Shaz, do you realize that you are also an inspiration to others? it's a circle man.. this board is great!

Also, would you mind giving me some links to those logs? I have followed PBateman for a while but somehow it didn't show up in my CP anymore, and I basically forgot about it. This guy helped me out as well and he's a madman in the gym. I'd love to see some of their logs.. I need some motivation boost as well :)

Keep up the good work man. You're killing it with the PR's and once again; I'm mirrin the horse meat.

oh, I'm going to have squid at a dinner tonight, have you ever had it? first I was like wtf.jpg but now i'm actually curious to try..

FUUU man I missed this post all day, you must have put it just when I posted something myself, my bad!

Thanks for the words and I completely agree, the inspiration and motivation in this boards comes from everyone and from every angle :)

Squid is GREAT but I can't tell you how to cook it as I've never done so myself. When I eat it at restaurants it usually is served swimming in butter and garlic, so maybe that'll help.

Here are the logs I mentioned:

Eric Helms (Quelly, my coach, he finally got his pro card!): http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=137417533

Matt (weathins, all around cool dude): http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=133513013

Kyle (webber, 1000 cals of cardio every phucking day): http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=127903603

Bnizzle163

09-03-2011, 03:13 PM

Congrats on the new low! That steak looks delish.

snrygo

09-03-2011, 04:59 PM

The raw spread

i must say... when i read this, i was afraid to scroll down

Quelly

09-03-2011, 05:52 PM

"Finally" got my pro card? Damn didn't know I was keeping you waiting all impatiently and what not lol

;)

foodpr0n

09-03-2011, 07:38 PM

Dat steak!

Great to see you got the scale moving Shaz!

Shazriki

09-04-2011, 02:13 AM

Congrats on the new low! That steak looks delish.

Thanks Billy! - and the steak was awesome but next time I'll ask for a smaller cut so I can fit some more varied food into my day :p

i must say... when i read this, i was afraid to scroll down

No raw food diet here brah, no need to be scared ;)

"Finally" got my pro card? Damn didn't know I was keeping you waiting all impatiently and what not lol

;)

LOL dude I was just reiterating the words that must have gone through your head when they called out your name ;)

Dat steak!

Great to see you got the scale moving Shaz!

Thanks mate, I'm glad too - these macros seem to be just what I need now! I'm trying to eat as much steak as possible now before I go to uni and the crushing reality of food prices sets in ;)

Shazriki

09-04-2011, 01:27 PM

4 September 2011

Today is the day of the week when I try and make an effort to do absolutely nothing and move as little as possible. So all I did was to walk the dog twice, go to the beach, walk up and down it and other misc stuff :)

Did a semi-tracked day today, just tracked my breakfast and then had a mcflurry and dinner with the family (the indian food) which I didn't track. Probably 200-300 cals over quota for the day but not a problem. I'll be in the gym in 12 hours so this meal will go straight into the workout!

Here's a shot of me on the beach, catching dem rayz:

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110904-P1010501.jpg

Morning weight 197.2 - new low

It's a new low, but also a massive outlier. Low carbed it yesterday and also had a couple of glasses of wine in the evening - as a result was dropping water like an absolute fiend in the evening. Interesting to see what tomorrow holds anyway.

~The Eats~

Chicken, baked beans, tomatoes and pickles

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110904-IMGP0335.jpg

Classic vanilla proats with a dollop of PB&Co CRS

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110904-IMGP0336.jpg

Various indian food: basmati rice, naan, dal, aloo gobi, chicken curry

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110904-IMGP0337.jpg

Macros tracked lunch but that's about it, mental estimates say I should be below maintenance

66jzmstr

09-04-2011, 01:34 PM

Shazriki's food pronz FTW yet again: that Indian food looks INCREDIBLE!

(heads-up: catchin' rays fottergraf not showing but food pronz are fine)

Congrats on the new low! :)

Shazriki

09-04-2011, 01:42 PM

Shazriki's food pronz FTW yet again: that Indian food looks INCREDIBLE!

(heads-up: catchin' rays fottergraf not showing but food pronz are fine)

Congrats on the new low! :)

Good call Dave - thanks! I have my dad to thank for the indian food, he's become pretty proficient at it over the years :)

raiku5

09-04-2011, 01:45 PM

Keep it up man! Looking leaner ALREADY :D your going to destroy this cut!

Shazriki

09-04-2011, 03:52 PM

Keep it up man! Looking leaner ALREADY :D your going to destroy this cut!

Thanks man, feeling tighter and more trip on a daily basis. Hope you're still training hard! :D

canuck17

09-04-2011, 04:08 PM

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! Those eats! Effin awesome bro. You're on a road to achieving meat mastery... mirinnnn.

Also, Ray Ban's FTW. Beach looks very nice!

Ubernit

09-04-2011, 04:09 PM

mhhhh steak
want

Trillios

09-04-2011, 04:15 PM

From your September 2nd post:
"I wasn’t content with my old weights. Every lift had to go up. I wanted more. More weight, and if not more weight, more reps. Anything to make it harder and make me stronger. "

I read this yesterday before my lifting session and bam set PRs as well! Thanks for the motivation dude.

snrygo

09-04-2011, 04:45 PM

No raw food diet here brah, no need to be scared ;)
i was afraid of something completely different (winkwink)(nohomo)

brendbro

09-04-2011, 05:10 PM

wow, had a bit of catching up to do, was reading your 2nd of september update while eating my brekky of bagels with cream cheese and banana when I saw that you had the exact same thing lol, nice :D I think bagels are now my go to for pre WO/breakfast, tasty, easy, high carb and don't fill me up too much so I'm not 'weighed down' (so to speak) at the gym :p

phuck me @ that 750g steak, I've had a 400g steak before and thought that was big... bloody hell

loving the motivation in here, definitely agree that inspiration on these boards is high all around.

raiku5

09-04-2011, 06:56 PM

Hope you're still training hard! :DFor sure! Got my head on straight and i'm eating also as much as your cutting on feelsOKISHman but hey more eats with more weight on me!

Quelly

09-04-2011, 11:10 PM

LOL dude I was just reiterating the words that must have gone through your head when they called out your name ;)

LOL, actually the words that went through my head looked like this

Eric's head "...................."
"...............HOLY ****"

Shazriki

09-05-2011, 06:23 AM

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! Those eats! Effin awesome bro. You're on a road to achieving meat mastery... mirinnnn.

Also, Ray Ban's FTW. Beach looks very nice!

Yarrrr the only slight failure from the barbecue was my attempt at cooking baby back ribs. I actually had no idea how to cook them and there were loads of conflicting methods online. They came out a bit dry - so I'll have to try that again in the future.

Ray Bans FTW indeed. This is the first summer I've spent with contact lenses, so pretty much for the first time in my life I can wear sunglasses (didn't really have prescription sunglasses). I decided I needed some Wayfarers on my face, so I got 'em ;) feelsgoodman

mhhhh steak
want

Your butcher awaits.

From your September 2nd post:
"I wasn’t content with my old weights. Every lift had to go up. I wanted more. More weight, and if not more weight, more reps. Anything to make it harder and make me stronger. "

I read this yesterday before my lifting session and bam set PRs as well! Thanks for the motivation dude.

No problem man, I saw that workout! Killing it with the triceps :D Glad I could give you a bit of mental fuel!

i was afraid of something completely different (winkwink)(nohomo)

wow, had a bit of catching up to do, was reading your 2nd of september update while eating my brekky of bagels with cream cheese and banana when I saw that you had the exact same thing lol, nice :D I think bagels are now my go to for pre WO/breakfast, tasty, easy, high carb and don't fill me up too much so I'm not 'weighed down' (so to speak) at the gym :p

phuck me @ that 750g steak, I've had a 400g steak before and thought that was big... bloody hell

loving the motivation in here, definitely agree that inspiration on these boards is high all around.

hehe, great minds! Yarr bagels aren't that filling, though admittedly after 3 of them and 500g quark I was somewhat satisfied - bit low on fiber though. I gotta say if my fiber comes in low at the end of the day I can usually tell because I'm ravenous.

Yea the steak was pretty big but once I got started I knew I'd have no trouble finishing it. When I get back to the UK I'm going to find a place that does a 1kg steak and take that on.

Thanks dude, and yea motivation is rife in these boards!

For sure! Got my head on straight and i'm eating also as much as your cutting on feelsOKISHman but hey more eats with more weight on me!

Sounds good, that's a solid cal intake at your age and weight - you should be feeling strong in the gym and growing nicely with those cals! More eats and more weight is NEVER a bad thing :)

LOL, actually the words that went through my head looked like this

Eric's head "...................."
"...............HOLY ****"

And I imagine that didn't change for the entire day ;)

Shazriki

09-05-2011, 03:19 PM

5 Sept 2011

Good workout today. Based on the feeling I had when I went in, I knew I would be maintaining on squats (wasn't in the PR zone), but that still left me with plenty of progress to make in all my other movements. Today I had my heavy day with DBs for the bench press, 70.4's went up without a problem and I feel as if I had plenty more in the tank. Had a great time doing lat pulldowns, using a neutral chin-grip. Fantastic MMC and I really felt the lats squeeze at the bottom of the movement, so I'll look forward to do these for the next few months and see if I can attack the lats from another angle for a while.

In other news, got my timetable for the first semester at uni. All good stuff! I won't have any trouble getting my workouts in before lunch time on any day, an I have wednesdays COMPLETELY off! This means that fasted training is still very much on the table which I'm happy about because I've had some of the best workouts of my lifting career so far this summer... on an empty stomach! Looks like scivation will be making some money off me for the next year or so ;)

Finally, here's a great article - a second part of a two part series on periodization by Alberto Nunez. The (most) interesting part is where he describes a simple periodization for breaking plateaus in exercises where you've reached the intermediate level.

http://www.3dmusclejourney.com/articles-power-muscles-pt-2.php

Morning weight 201.4

Up from the indian food feast yesterday, will probably start moving back down from tomorrow onwards. Depending on how energy develops later on in the week I may do a small refeed on friday: drop fats by 5, protein by 20, and increase carbs to 550. We'll see.

~The Workout~

Squats 251.9 x 5 x 3
*
DB Bench Press 70.4's x 6 x 3 PR
*
Lat Pulldowns 154 x 11 + 3,3,3,3,3,3
This is the kind volume I want to be hitting the lats with. Over the next couple of weeks I'll be playing with different weights and reps to see what I want to use for my high and low days.
*
EZ-bar skullcrushers 72.6 x 12 PR, 9, 7
*
BB rollout 10, 5

~The Eats~

Not pictured: sludge with cereal

Ham sandwiches

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110905-IMGP0339.jpg

Fudge brownie overnight oats with HD Chocolate, Praline and caramel and B&Js cookie dough

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110905-IMGP0342.jpg

BBQ-Sauce Risotto with chicken

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110905-IMGP0344.jpg

Macros 222P/371C/51F = 2831 cals

oats_addict

09-05-2011, 04:32 PM

Dexter3000

09-06-2011, 12:38 AM

Shazriki

09-06-2011, 03:21 AM

Great progres so far with the DB Benching man, keep that on the increase and you'll be sweet, especially on a limited calorie allowance.

Good to hear about your timetable too. I bet the first thing you thought when looking at it, was whether you would be able to schedule in your wo's without any trouble - result!

Thanks dude and yea the DB benching should progress quite nicely as I'm using this wave periodization to give my muscles a break every week. In effect I'm pushing the boundaries every day but only really going balls to the wall every 3 weeks :)

Mate it was exactly like that. I asked myself these questions in this order:

1) Do I have any 8.15 lectures? No
2) How many 9.15 lectures do I have? 1
3) Can I train before lunch? Yes
4) Everything else is inconsequential :D

So I'm not the only one looking at how to optimize my training schedule when new time tables are out :)

Fasted training ftw broseph.. as long as they're before noon (for me it's not working later than that; energy = gone). By the way, you are going to buy/take BCAA's? In my humble opinion it's a waste of money.. unless you really like the taste or something. If you protein intake throughout the day is sufficient than those 2-3 hours with no protein won't hurt you. I never really understand why even Martin suggests to take BCAA's, while at the meantime busting all the myths about post-wo meals and eating protein every 3 hours. Sure, after your workout your body is in a different state compared to the other hours of your fast, but in such a short time frame I wonder if there is anything to gain from. (pbateman also trained a long time without any food after his workout, up until 4 hours.. he was gaining like a mad man, not cutting though)

What do you think?

No dude you aren't alone - it's a very important part of student life ;)

It's a really good question, but to answer it we need to distinguish between what's optimal and what's required. Do I think BCAAs are required for fasted training? Definitely not. If you're dieting you will by definition be in a net catabolic state anyway so when and how you get your calories in won't matter. Are they optimal? Maybe. Martin describes it pretty well in this article: http://www.leangains.com/2009/12/fasted-training-boosts-muscle-growth.html where he notes:

For fasted sessions, ingest 10 g branched chain amino acids (BCAA) shortly prior (5-15 mins) to your training session. This does not count towards the 8-hour feeding window that I advocate post-workout; that starts with your post-workout meal. By ingesting BCAA pre-workout, we can sidestep the increased protein breakdown of fasted training while still reaping the benefits of the increased anabolic response as seen in this study. Not only that, BCAAs actually increase phosphorylation of p70s6k when ingested in the fasted state prior to training. So by training fasted, with BCAA intake prior to sessions, we get a double whammy of increased p70s6k phosphorylation that should create a very favorable environment for muscle growth in the post-workout period.

The p70s6k is apparently the signal for muscle growth releasing during weight training. So with that in mind, I think that by taking BCAAs in combination with a large meal postworkout (I get about 50% of my daily cals in my postworkout meal) I'm creating the best possible environment for my muscles while in deficit. Hell, if I'm lucky enough the anabolic rebound that Lyle McDonald describes in UD 2.0 might be happening to some extent (maybe this is why people see their strength going up while cutting on leangains?)

foodpr0n

09-06-2011, 03:24 AM

So I'm not the only one looking at how to optimize my training schedule when new time tables are out :)

Fasted training ftw broseph.. as long as they're before noon (for me it's not working later than that; energy = gone). By the way, you are going to buy/take BCAA's? In my humble opinion it's a waste of money.. unless you really like the taste or something. If you protein intake throughout the day is sufficient than those 2-3 hours with no protein won't hurt you. I never really understand why even Martin suggests to take BCAA's, while at the meantime busting all the myths about post-wo meals and eating protein every 3 hours. Sure, after your workout your body is in a different state compared to the other hours of your fast, but in such a short time frame I wonder if there is anything to gain from. (pbateman also trained a long time without any food after his workout, up until 4 hours.. he was gaining like a mad man, not cutting though)

What do you think?

Not a smart move IMO.
Not everyone is Pbateman ;)

Shaz nailed it. It may not be REQUIRED, but it is far from optimal. Martin's response to this question would be quite blunt ...Trust me.

Shaz as to your point on people on LG set ups having awesome dieting experiences/lbm retention; Taken from the IF thred

Sigh....

Look stop making this complicated.

Basically, it is an attempt to re-feed every other day (or every training day).
*Generally*, majority of the population won't be able to successfully re-feed if carbs are high every day. Thus, you cycle calories/carbs. You most likely won't become "depleted" per se unless you do depletion work and eat lowwww carbs for a few days....BUT, your glycogen stores are obviously reduced by limiting carbs on off days...(don't worry about depletion btw)

Hence, the whole aim of this is to mimic a re-feed and aim for maximum utilisation of the carbs during the over-feeding phase (after a workout), essentially aiming to create an anabolic state even when in a deficit.

Re-feeds, read up on them, have a myriad of benefits.

And fat is low during a re-feed. Max 50g. Lower if you can help it.
Bold = similar to Lyle's UD 2.0
Also training is smart for a diet. People can't overreach really on it.

Dexter3000

09-06-2011, 03:52 AM

It's a really good question, but to answer it we need to distinguish between what's optimal and what's required. Do I think BCAAs are required for fasted training? Definitely not. If you're dieting you will by definition be in a net catabolic state anyway so when and how you get your calories in won't matter. Are they optimal? Maybe. Martin describes it pretty well in this article: http://www.leangains.com/2009/12/fasted-training-boosts-muscle-growth.html where he notes:

The p70s6k is apparently the signal for muscle growth releasing during weight training. So with that in mind, I think that by taking BCAAs in combination with a large meal postworkout (I get about 50% of my daily cals in my postworkout meal) I'm creating the best possible environment for my muscles while in deficit. Hell, if I'm lucky enough the anabolic rebound that Lyle McDonald describes in UD 2.0 might be happening to some extent (maybe this is why people see their strength going up while cutting on leangains?)

Yes that is an important distinction to make and I fully agree with your post. I have read Martin's article on that, together with Lyle's stuff on re-feeds etc. and it depends on how far you want to take this. For me part of the strength of IF is that it provides more flexibility, which could be less if you need to take BCAAs to wherever you are post-workout (work, uni, etc.).

I have 100% of my calories post-workout so for me it's not really a big deal I think, since there's never more than 2-3 hours after my workout before I eat. I also believe (but this is just my personal 'believe') that the human body is build to optimize these processes, meaning your muscles won't be broken down if there are no proteins available immediately after the muscle is damaged. We're talking about just a few hours here. I also think that most of the recovery/rebuilding of the muscle happens during sleep, which is also the time you have all the required nutrients in the blood.

Not a smart move IMO.
Not everyone is Pbateman ;)

Shaz nailed it. It may not be REQUIRED, but it is far from optimal. Martin's response to this question would be quite blunt ...Trust me.

Shaz as to your point on people on LG set ups having awesome dieting experiences/lbm retention; Taken from the IF thred

Bold = similar to Lyle's UD 2.0
Also training is smart for a diet. People can't overreach really on it.

Yes true and like I said I know the various opinions when it comes to BCAAs and it depends on how you approach training in general I think. For the majority who lift but have no aspiration to be on stage or compete, it might not make any (significant) difference. Of course I don't mean that if you don't train to be on stage you don't need to take it seriously or create the best environment to improve your performance.

For me it's about lifting heavy and getting in enough protein during the day. More micro-managing will do me more harm than good, but that's personal. Not saying that taking BCAAs is so much effort or stressful but you get my point.

All in all I will look into this some more later today, it definitely is an interesting issue. Thanks for the reply's guys.

Shazriki

09-06-2011, 04:54 AM

Not a smart move IMO.
Not everyone is Pbateman ;)

Shaz nailed it. It may not be REQUIRED, but it is far from optimal. Martin's response to this question would be quite blunt ...Trust me.

Shaz as to your point on people on LG set ups having awesome dieting experiences/lbm retention; Taken from the IF thred

Bold = similar to Lyle's UD 2.0
Also training is smart for a diet. People can't overreach really on it.

Thanks for chiming in dude! I strongly suspect Martin formulated some of his ideas after reading Lyle's work. This discussion makes me wish more and more that someone would do a controlled study of people following the leangains protocol, to examine some of the mechanisms which make it such an effective way to diet.

^^in bold above I didn't really understand mate, could you expand? Do you mean that can't overreach while doing weights on a diet (I doubt that's what you mean but I can't really understand any differently)?

Yes that is an important distinction to make and I fully agree with your post. I have read Martin's article on that, together with Lyle's stuff on re-feeds etc. and it depends on how far you want to take this. For me part of the strength of IF is that it provides more flexibility, which could be less if you need to take BCAAs to wherever you are post-workout (work, uni, etc.).

I have 100% of my calories post-workout so for me it's not really a big deal I think, since there's never more than 2-3 hours after my workout before I eat. I also believe (but this is just my personal 'believe') that the human body is build to optimize these processes, meaning your muscles won't be broken down if there are no proteins available immediately after the muscle is damaged. We're talking about just a few hours here. I also think that most of the recovery/rebuilding of the muscle happens during sleep, which is also the time you have all the required nutrients in the blood.

Yes true and like I said I know the various opinions when it comes to BCAAs and it depends on how you approach training in general I think. For the majority who lift but have no aspiration to be on stage or compete, it might not make any (significant) difference. Of course I don't mean that if you don't train to be on stage you don't need to take it seriously or create the best environment to improve your performance.

For me it's about lifting heavy and getting in enough protein during the day. More micro-managing will do me more harm than good, but that's personal. Not saying that taking BCAAs is so much effort or stressful but you get my point.

All in all I will look into this some more later today, it definitely is an interesting issue. Thanks for the reply's guys.

For me the main convenience aspect of leangains is the IF which allows me to basically manipulate my hunger from week to week (I've already shifted my eating window several times with good results). Carrying around some BCAAs isn't a huge deal, especially since I only ever really use one serving on training days. I rarely rarely take BCAAs after workouts unless I know I won't be eating for several hours afterwards. Usually as long as I eat <2 hours after training I won't take bcaas post-WO. We're talking about the benefits of taking it pre-workout here.

The whole micromanagement aspect comes into play when you start worrying about taking BCAAs every 2 hours if you train at 5am. I don't feel like dealing with that, but I won't have to because I don't train that early!

Anecdotally, since taking BCAAs pre-WO I've noticed that day-to-day recovery has improved and I feel less sore going into my workouts two days later. It could be placebo but I like to think something physiological is happening too.

wheathins

09-06-2011, 07:26 AM

Shazriki

09-06-2011, 01:19 PM

what up buddy! Some good banter in here regarding training, dieting, supplementation - I'll toss my 2 cents in there for what its worth real quick as it related to prepping - I've shifted to an IF style approach simply because when you're only eating 1550 calories, spacing it out over 6, 4 or 3 meals isn't much - so I eat 1 very large meal about 2 hours pre workout then another large meal about an hour or 2 post. When my calories are raised post contest I'll probably go back to eating a few times a day, because it's what I prefer, but for the time being, this style has been great and my hunger as I stretch the 16 hour fasting window gets easier to deal with each day. BCAA's, I take 1 serving during post workout cardio and count it towards my protein intake. Only time I've ever taken it postworkout has been at night when I've reached my fats and my carbs for the day but need an extra 10g or so of protein, I'll get it in the form of BCAA's.

Anyways, loving the new avi, son, soaking up some rays like a boss! How's about you ship me some of day dere horse meat? I'd paypal the fuk out of you if that were possible, can't get horse around my way... I feel like if I go to a butcher around here asking for horse he might slap me across the face with some haggis and tell me his daugher rides ponies or something. Glad to see everything is moving along smoothly bruh!

I would probably do something similar in your situation Matt. Seeing as you have a big meal you don't need the BCAAs pre-WO, but since you only eat a few hours after you workout it makes sense to chug a serving down until you can eat. 1550 cals dude... you MONSTER!

Thanks man, still looking soft as pudding but that's changing from day to day :) Had to Lol at your comment about going to the butcher brah. The obvious response would be "does she ride tasty ponies sir?" and then a little paedo-smile just to polish it off. I'm sure you'd make fast friends!

As for sending horse, I'm not sure it's worth it as it would be the most $$$$ piece of meat you ever bought and it would probably arrive with some friends living on it if you know what I mean :p I got you covered though, this site is the next best thing and it's US based: http://www.exoticmeatsandmore.com/

Shazriki

09-06-2011, 01:34 PM

6 September 2011

Nothing much to report today, just another one in the books really. Weight moving back down from sunday's curry and nailed another cardio session, stationary bike this time for a bit of variety.

Morning weight 200.6

~The Workout~

Stationary bike 400 cals burned in 37:25

~The Eats~

Not pictured: proats

Bro food: snap green beans, chicken breast with sriracha, rice cakes with cream cheese

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110906-IMGP0345.jpg

Quark, XF Cinn roll, Cap'n crunch PB, PB&Co CRS, bananas

Awesome sludge!

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110906-IMGP0346.jpg

Chicken/turkey burger with manchego cheese and allioli, baked beans

Found a shop that does fresh baked burger buns. 1000x better than the prepackaged nonsense

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110906-IMGP0347.jpg

Macros 223P/272C/75F = 2655 cals

oats_addict

09-06-2011, 01:53 PM

Did you have the baked beans just to take the p*ss?? Bloody things! I want to like them, just cant!

Shazriki

09-06-2011, 03:02 PM

Did you have the baked beans just to take the p*ss?? Bloody things! I want to like them, just cant!

Har har har. Don't like them, or just can't stomach them? Baked beans are like the new oats for me, I basically need to have them on an almost daily basis. Has to be Heinz though. Inferior brands taste as if the beans have been pickled in ball sweat.

foodpr0n

09-06-2011, 03:09 PM

Shazriki

09-06-2011, 11:13 PM

Wrt to Berkhan's training. Low volume/frequency like that is gonna make it hard NOT to recover:p Get me. I meant overreaching as in 'doing too much'.

Baked beans ftw. Huge big English Brekky is one of my favourites.

Lol ahh I get you now. Yea in one of the RPT articles he describes his back day: deadlifts, weighted chins, some rows and then out the door :p Minimizing volume like that is probably a great way to retain mass without feelings of death.

English brek ftmfw!

Shazriki

09-07-2011, 03:59 PM

7 September 2011

Had myself an interesting encounter at the gym today. Just as I was finishing up with my shoulder press, some guy who couldn't speak Spanish walked up to the power rack asking me if I was done. I told him I was going to RDLs and that the rack was free (in Spanish) and he basically didn't understand. So I told him in English that yea the rack was free. He then proceeds to rack up 4pps and starts doing deep low-bar squats with a wide stance. I was like "Wut?" (NB: until seeing this guy I thought I was the only person in the gym doing full depth squats for (relatively) heavy weight) Turns out the dude was an English powerlifter who vacations in Spain most of the time. It was awesome. We got talking about powerlifting and bodybuilding for a bit, he gave me some pointers on my RDL form (turns out I was rounding my back a little by looking at the ground instead of looking up during the initial pull) and was a generally nice guy. Jokingly I asked him what total I should aim for for my first hypothetical powerlifting meet, he said based on my age/weight range 520kg (~1150lbs)... so I've definitely got some work to do if I want to make that happen!

On to the training itself, it actually wasn't the best of workouts, I felt especially weak on my accessory work for some reason, but my main lifts were all OK. I actually hit a new PR on RDLs which was pretty nice. One of the advantages of watching someone WAY more advanced than you busting is ass is that it motivates you even more and makes the weights you find challenging seem feather light. At least that's how it played out today.

Morning weight 199.4

~The Workout~

Front squats 207.9 X 6 X 3
*
Standing BB OH Press (Deload) 114.4 x 5 x 3
*
RDLs 312.4 x 5 x 2 PR
*
BB Bicep curls 83.6 x 10 + 3,3
*
DB Lateral raises 22's x 11 + 4,4,4,3

~The Eats~

Not pictured: proats, protein pudding, rice cake

Spaghetti with ground turkey, onions and sun dried tomatoes covered in a low-fat "alfredo" sauce

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110907-IMGP0351.jpg

Big bowl of Cheerios :p

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110907-IMGP0353.jpg

Chicken, sweet potato fries, tomatoes

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110907-IMGP0354.jpg

Macros 226P/371C/48F = 2820 cals

Shazriki

09-09-2011, 12:56 AM

8 September 2011

Mixed up my usual schedule today and went to the beach first thing in the morning instead of doing my cardio. The earlier you can get to the beach the better, there are fewer people there and you can sit right up by the water. Wait too long and you can't even walk in a straight line to the water. Anyway did my cardio in the evening then. The rest of the day was mighty relaxed. In an unprecedented moment of nerdiness I rediscovered the joy that is playing old Final Fantasy games, in particular FF7 (my favorite one). So I will probably send much of my downtime the next three weeks seeing how far I can get through it :D

Morning weight 198.8

Will probably be looking at a new "legit" low tomorrow, seeing as the 197.2 from last sunday was a fluke from the low carb day on saturday.

~The Workout~

Crosstrainer 400 cals burned in 38:13

~The Eats~

Not pictured: proats, protein pudding

Full English breakfast (minus bacon and toast on the side)

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110908-IMGP0356.jpg

Horse filet, snap green beans, twice baked sweet potato with mozzarella

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110908-IMGP0358.jpg

Quark, ON Vanilla casein, cheerios, Reese's PB cups, bananas

Stay away from the sugar-free PB cups, my mom mistakenly brought these back from the US and even 4 buttercups wreaked havoc on my GI-tract (seems the only sugar substitutes I can handle are the sugar-free syrups, sweeteners, and whatever they put in SF/FF jello)

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110908-IMGP0359.jpg

Macros 223P/284C/72F= 2676 cals

Went a touch higher on carbs today just because I was a bit more active than usual, and I was feeling mighty drained in the evening.

Quelly

09-09-2011, 01:14 AM

And I imagine that didn't change for the entire day ;)

dude it still hasn't sunk in

brendbro

09-09-2011, 01:41 AM

jesus your life seems awesome right now!

early morning beach? final fantasy? relaxed afternoon? evening cardio? yes please :D

and to top it off, knowing you're getting slimmer/sexier (no homo) by the day :p

Shazriki

09-09-2011, 01:35 PM

dude it still hasn't sunk in

:)

jesus your life seems awesome right now!

early morning beach? final fantasy? relaxed afternoon? evening cardio? yes please :D

and to top it off, knowing you're getting slimmer/sexier (no homo) by the day :p

Man, my life is very, very cushy right now and I have no complaints. Truth be told this is probably the best summer I've spent at my parents' place: the gym is only a 10 min walk away, I actually ENJOY going there now in fact I'm passionate about it. I have a focus in life (other than my studies). My family respects my new hobby and supports me in what I do. AND I can practically roll out of bed and into the beach. I'll miss these days for sure, but uni holds many different attractions :)

And yes getting leaner on an almost daily basis feels pretty nice, lately I've been noticing some fat coming away from the shoulders and triceps - which is all good news (if the fat is going to come off somewhere, why not the glamour muscles?).

Shazriki

09-09-2011, 02:03 PM

9 September 2011

I was all fired up today to cover some more ground on squats having seen that powerlifter do work on wednesday. The last set was tough, but manageable. I seem to be getting pretty good at breaking through sticking points. It's like they aren't mentally difficult anymore, if anything I feel at home in a sticking point. I know I just have to keep pushing and I WILL beat the weight eventually. Anyway, judging by energy/recovery so far I think I'll be able to set a squat PR every 10 days or so (almost every week) at this rate. I really want to get at least 275x5 by the end of the year and 300+ (at least) for a single. Let's see if we can get it done. Rest of the workout was business as usual, added reps to both bench and row and the accessory work finished my legs off.

In other news, I'll be doing my first refeed next monday, macros will be 200P/550C/40F. I would have done it today except for the fact that next week my parents and I are going down to Seville for an overnight stay tuesday and wednesday. That'll mean no tracking and eating in restaurants all day (not buffets). So as likely as it is that I will go over my macros it's also possible that I might undershoot (we'll be doing a lot of walking) so I'd rather start the week completely full rather than come back from the trip slightly bloated and then hesitate with a refeed when I might actually benefit from one.

That's about it for today, have a good weekend everyone!

Morning weight 198.6

If hadn't weighed in on sunday this would be a new low, but for consistency I'll just keep posting the weigh ins until I do get a real new low. All that matters is that progress is being made ;)

~The Workout~

Squats 257.4 x 5 x 3 PR
*
BB Bench Press 185.9 x 6 PR, 5, 5
*
BB row 185.9 x 6 x 3 PR
*
Rotary Calf 132 x 11 + 4,4,4,3
*
Seated Ham curl w/ slow negatives 137.5 x 9 + 4,4,4,3
^Today I did slow negatives in combination with myo-reps, the increased TUT felt really good so I'll keep doing this in the future

~The Eats~

Not pictured: proats, protein pudding, apple, rice cakes

Pancakes with syrup

These definitely weren't my best batch, recipe I usually use needs applesauce which we didn't have, so I had to use a mashed banana instead.

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110909-IMGP0366.jpg

Turkey sandwich with snap green beans

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110909-IMGP0367.jpg

Chicken and veggie stirfry

Had some rice cakes on the side..

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110909-IMGP0369.jpg

Macros 222P/370C/51F = 2827 cals

raiku5

09-09-2011, 03:45 PM

God job man! Seriously Glad your have a great life! I just started Cross Country (if you care to know) Well glad your doing good :)

mike201011

09-09-2011, 04:45 PM

Food and workouts look real good man! Nice stuff.

I havnt been active at all really on this log. More lurked it. Will post from now on tho :)

66jzmstr

09-09-2011, 06:05 PM

Dat bread!

Dexter3000

09-10-2011, 01:17 AM

Awesome stuff Shaz! Close to the beach, 10 min. from the gym, lots of time on your hands, a supporting family and PR's all while dropping weight AND eating incredible foods.

I was wondering though how come your semester starts this late, I know UK is 1 hour time difference but whatthefukkisthisshiit.jpg ;)

Shazriki

09-10-2011, 01:55 AM

God job man! Seriously Glad your have a great life! I just started Cross Country (if you care to know) Well glad your doing good :)

Thanks man! Cool that you're into cross country now - it's exhilarating stuff if you've got the fitness for it. I remember HATING it as kid in elementary school because I was not one of the fit kids at all, and they made us do it every week. Brb walking most of the course with a stitch and completely out of breath :( I'm sure that ain't a problem for you though )

Food and workouts look real good man! Nice stuff.

I havnt been active at all really on this log. More lurked it. Will post from now on tho :)

Hey thanks man - and glad to see you're still following! Don't sweat it on the posting - I'm like that too, subbed to so many logs but only post very, very intermittently. Like some days I'll be social as hell and other days a cave troll.

Speaking of lurking I didn't know you had a log so will catch up on that (eventually) :)

Dat bread!

Gotta love dat freshness.

Awesome stuff Shaz! Close to the beach, 10 min. from the gym, lots of time on your hands, a supporting family and PR's all while dropping weight AND eating incredible foods.

I was wondering though how come your semester starts this late, I know UK is 1 hour time difference but whatthefukkisthisshiit.jpg ;)

It's pretty sweet right now dude, I don't mean to show off about it but it's one of those rare moments in life where you can truly relax and not have a single worry in your mind!

Haha, in the UK we have 4 months of vacation between the beginning of june and beginning of october PLUS vacations throughout the two semesters. In total we have probably less than 5 months of actual teaching time. Of course this compression of the year means the work comes hard and fast most of the time, but if you have the mindset for it going to uni in the UK can leave you with plenty of free time to do other things :D

It's not like this in other countries as far as I've seen, it's just the UK with the insane holidays.

raiku5

09-10-2011, 05:09 AM

Thanks man! Cool that you're into cross country now - it's exhilarating stuff if you've got the fitness for it. I remember HATING it as kid in elementary school because I was not one of the fit kids at all, and they made us do it every week. Brb walking most of the course with a stitch and completely out of breath :( I'm sure that ain't a problem for you though )

You could probably do it now! Also FF8 for the win!!!!!!!not ff7 :P

vitornoob

09-10-2011, 05:52 AM

Cutting and PR's that is awesome, man (:

FF7 is really that good, love it....

love your eatings, need to buy a better camera for me...mirin yours!

btw, i am eating lately a lot baked beans....can you guess why? haha

How is LX? Do you thinks is it doing something good?

(:

Shazriki

09-11-2011, 01:30 AM

You could probably do it now! Also FF8 for the win!!!!!!!not ff7 :P

Lots of people said FF8 was good, but I just couldn't get into it. I was 12 or 13 at the time, living in switzerland, so when I went out and bought the game of course it was in German. Needless to say it was an experiment in frustration as I didn't understand enough german to play the game then, so solving any sort of puzzle was a pain in the ass. :p

Cutting and PR's that is awesome, man (:

FF7 is really that good, love it....

love your eatings, need to buy a better camera for me...mirin yours!

btw, i am eating lately a lot baked beans....can you guess why? haha

How is LX? Do you thinks is it doing something good?

(:

Thanks man! FF7 is so solid lol, instead of watching shows I'm now playing FF7 instead, gaming induced coma is sure to follow :D

Haha your pics are quality dude IMO! But if you can get one, why not? ;)

Baked beans FTW, we grilled out last night and my mom made some proper homemade ones with kidney beans and bbq sauce = orgasmic. I'll be eating the Heinz stuff ALL THE TIME at uni though, it's just too good to pass up.

I'm down to my last weeks dose of LX now. Still no joint pain, no constipation, no side-effects at all really! You know the saying "you don't know what you've got till it's gone"? Well I suspect that if LX was doing anything major, I'll find out when I stop taking it, until then, hard to say!

Shazriki

09-11-2011, 01:40 AM

10 September 2011

Just did a bit of cardio in the morning and walked the dog to get the day started. After lunch I started getting really, really sore so I just lounged around for much of the rest of the day. Dad flew in from a business trip in the evening so I fired up the grill to cook up some chicken, while mom did the potato salad and baked beans. Good eats. Missed the pics though, sorry dudes.

Moving my first cardio session of next week up to today (sunday) because of the little trip I'll be taking to Seville.

Morning weight 198.4

still going down!

~The Workout~

Crosstrainer 400 cals burned in 37:13

~The Eats~

Not pictured: lots

Just snapped a pic of this delish tuna salad:

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110910-IMGP0372.jpg

Macros 220P/280C/73F = 2657 cals

brendbro

09-11-2011, 01:53 AM

Haha, in the UK we have 4 months of vacation between the beginning of june and beginning of october PLUS vacations throughout the two semesters. In total we have probably less than 5 months of actual teaching time. Of course this compression of the year means the work comes hard and fast most of the time, but if you have the mindset for it going to uni in the UK can leave you with plenty of free time to do other things :D

It's not like this in other countries as far as I've seen, it's just the UK with the insane holidays.

It's pretty similar over here, Winter break is around 4 months, then we get summer holidays + 1 week breaks mid semester. the work does pile up though

Shazriki

09-11-2011, 03:29 PM

It's pretty similar over here, Winter break is around 4 months, then we get summer holidays + 1 week breaks mid semester. the work does pile up though

It's a good system IMO, let's you get in a few months of work over the break and/or do mega travelling if that's your thing. Gotta keep busy though. My first summer off from uni I didn't do anything and after 4 months of sitting around at home was going pretty schitz. :p

Trillios

09-11-2011, 03:49 PM

Hey dude haven't posted in a bit. Good to see the weight coming down. How are things looking in the mirror? Also, I'm not a huge fan of salad but damn that last pic looked mad tasty lol.

Shazriki

09-11-2011, 03:51 PM

11 September 2011

Just want to quickly commemorate the tragedy that occurred 10 years ago today. I was fortunate enough to not be directly affected by the attacks, but of the thousands that were killed many loved ones, husbands, children, wives were left behind to pick up the pieces. My thoughts were with them today. We will never forget.

Can't say I really did much today other than a cardio session that as I mentioned I had to move up because of the trip on tuesday. Had a really good night's sleep last night so was all refreshed, and basically just spent the day relaxing. I feel pretty good as of this writing, so I'm expecting a solid workout tomorrow morning. It'll be another early one because I need to play chauffeur for the dad who is getting his car serviced. Brb 7.30am wake up (consider that I've been getting up at a leisurely 9-9.30am usually - ah well cry me a river). It'll be good though, start the day with a bang and make it productive. I have to make a few calls and start arranging things for the move back to England, so it works out.

Tomorrow is also my refeed which should be pretty sweet. Thinking of a banana bread, bagels, something with sweet potatoes, and a combination of quark and chicken for protein along with some veggies just for a bit fiber. Should be fun!

Morning weight 198

Every day this week was lower than the previous one - without any black magic with manipulating carbs or anything. Should be seeing some new legit lows by the end of next week!

~The Workout~

Crosstrainer 400 cals burned in 37:36

~The Eats~

Not pictured: protein pudding, rice cakes

Horse filet, broccoli, cherry tomatoes

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110911-IMGP0375.jpg

Vanilla proats with PB&Co CRS (because you guys love it)

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110911-IMGP0377.jpg

Vegetarian Thai food my dad made

I don't know the thai names of the dishes but going from left to right there is: cucumber-peanut salad with vinegar and sugar dressing, eggplant-chili stir fry, garlic cabbage stirfry - it was all delicious.

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110911-IMGP0380.jpg

Quark/Cottage cheese, XF CnC, ON Vanilla casein, Cap'n Crunch PB, Cheerios

There was a distinct lack of protein in that veggie food so I needed to do something about it:

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110911-IMGP0382.jpg

Macros 220P/276C/74F = 2650 cals

Shazriki

09-11-2011, 03:57 PM

Hey dude haven't posted in a bit. Good to see the weight coming down. How are things looking in the mirror? Also, I'm not a huge fan of salad but damn that last pic looked mad tasty lol.

Hey dude! Yep everything is going in the right direction! Things are looking a bit sexier, new cuts are coming. Fat is coming off primarily around the knee (weird), the abdomen, and upper arms. I really do think I'll be looking different when I get back to 185 (roughly my pre-bulk weight). I'll post some pics a day or two before I head off to England. That'll be about 5 or 6 weeks into the cut so about time for an update ;)

Salads are a favorite of mine when I'm feeling in more of a "volume" mood food-wise. For me at least, there are days when bread and pasta are best avoided in favor of less dense carb sources. On days like that I'll eat a big salad and still have plenty of room for the usual treats (bowl of proats).

SideSteal

09-11-2011, 04:32 PM

Those pancakes look good as hell.

Salads are a favorite of mine when I'm feeling in more of a "volume" mood food-wise. For me at least, there are days when bread and pasta are best avoided in favor of less dense carb sources. On days like that I'll eat a big salad and still have plenty of room for the usual treats (bowl of proats).

^ I go to town on salad.

Great log.

Bnizzle163

09-11-2011, 06:31 PM

FF7 is really that good, love it....

Best. Game. Ever.

Lots of people said FF8 was good, but I just couldn't get into it. I was 12 or 13 at the time, living in switzerland, so when I went out and bought the game of course it was in German. Needless to say it was an experiment in frustration as I didn't understand enough german to play the game then, so solving any sort of puzzle was a pain in the ass. :p

Thanks man! FF7 is so solid lol, instead of watching shows I'm now playing FF7 instead, gaming induced coma is sure to follow :D

I would rep you again if I could, Shaz. FF7 is definitely the most epic game ever. I just started playing 8 again (I never got through the first disc when I purchased it for the first time lol). I decided to buy it again, just to see... though not nearly as good as 7, it's actually a solid game once it gets rolling. NOTHING... i mean NOTHING will touch 7. Love the game so much I got a meteor that has FFVII etched into it in part of my tattoo on my forearm. I also tatood cloud strife on my right thigh a few years back. Yes, I am a fan :)

brendbro

09-11-2011, 09:13 PM

vitornoob

09-12-2011, 07:03 AM

Man...epic eatings, i can not find cheerios here in Germany ):

Shaz and Billy, now i want to play FF7 or 8, thanks HEUHAUEHAUEHE ;)

keep that hard, man, PR's even cutting and awesome eatings

Shazriki

09-12-2011, 07:09 AM

Those pancakes look good as hell.

^ I go to town on salad.

Great log.

Thank god for non-stick pans is all I can say. If I tried to do them on a cast iron skillet it would have been a mess. But thanks dude. Salads are definitely underrated but I eat them all the time. Especially in this heat a nice cold salad really hits the spot.

Thanks again!

Best. Game. Ever.

I would rep you again if I could, Shaz. FF7 is definitely the most epic game ever. I just started playing 8 again (I never got through the first disc when I purchased it for the first time lol). I decided to buy it again, just to see... though not nearly as good as 7, it's actually a solid game once it gets rolling. NOTHING... i mean NOTHING will touch 7. Love the game so much I got a meteor that has FFVII etched into it in part of my tattoo on my forearm. I also tatood cloud strife on my right thigh a few years back. Yes, I am a fan :)

I'm playing it right now brah (well technically after I finish writing this). I might give FF8 another try when I'm done with 7, but that'll take a while since the playstation stays here with my sister while I go off to uni. Of the ones I've played through it goes: FF7, FF9, FF10 (X-2 was crap).

Btw that meteor tattoo sounds awesome, I actually sort of want something similar across my back (not a meteor, but something that appears to be in motion). When you get the ink done do you draw the concept art yourself or in the case of the FF7 stuff did you print something off the web?

Btw, you're always on spread seemingly regardless of how many other people I rep... site is broken :p

If I ever get a tattoo it will be either master chief, something from zelda (either tri force or the master sword) or the words "i love my mum" :) (because I do)

also - lolled hard irl at losing fat off the knee

Good choices, hmm this is good you guys have given me a new source of inspiration... who knows maybe I'll have decided on one by the end of the year!

Basically the conversation went like this (I had my leg propped up on a chair):

Sister: "Bro, what's going on with your knee?"
Me: "Wut"

Had a look and it looks like some of the fat is receding from the bottom of my thigh, freeing up the knee area and exposing more of the quad!

Shazriki

09-12-2011, 07:11 AM

Man...epic eatings, i can not find cheerios here in Germany ):

Shaz and Billy, now i want to play FF7 or 8, thanks HEUHAUEHAUEHE ;)

keep that hard, man, PR's even cutting and awesome eatings

Thanks dude! Sucks that you can't find cheerios. I saw a similar (Kelloggs) cereal called Honey Loops in switzerland, they don't have that in germany?

Play them dude.. join the cult... ;)

No worries, I'll keep pushing!

Shazriki

09-12-2011, 02:10 PM

12 September 2011

Man, monday's are becoming my unofficial bro day - the arm pumps I've been getting lately since including EZ-bar skullcrushers and lat pulldowns have been insane. We're talking bursting sleeves. Good workout on the whole, hit another squat PR and a great set with lat pulldowns, everything else was somewhat stale, however. I pushed it too hard on the top set of both my DB bench and skullcrushers leaving something to be desired in the bottom two sets. I need to ease up on the first set a bit to leave more gas in the tank in the future. Almost had a wreck on the last set of squats actually, had a brief lapse of concentration and my core relaxed causing me to drift forward a bit (classic newbie good morning out of hole type stuff) but luckily I was able to lock it down and finish up the set nicely. Made sure to really stretch my back post-workout just in case, but no problems. Anyway the main goal of the workout was to kill myself on squats since I won't be doing them again until friday - mission accomplished.

Refeed was entertaining, got a lot of high carb stuff I've been jonesing for lately off my chest. Mostly went for minimally processed stuff where possible, because when I go really high carb it's what I feel best eating. The banana bread was the most "processed" of the foods I ate, I felt fine afterwards but perhaps used a touch too much sweetener in the recipe (minor, minor bloat). In the future I'll just use real sugar. Or half and half. All in all though I'd say it was successful, I feel full now but not bloated or anything, generally satisfied.

It'll be interesting to see what happens to my weight tomorrow, it would be awesome if there wasn't much change from today, but it's probably not going to happen :p

Next update will be in two days, when I get back from Seville. Going to be a fun couple of days - some good eating, some sightseeing and a nice change from the routine!

Morning weight 198.8

Must have misjudged dad's cooking a bit, ah well.

~The Workout~

Squats 262.9 x 5 x 3 PR
*
DB Bench Press 61.6's x 12,11,9
*
CG Lat pulldowns 143 x 15 + 4,4,4,4
*
EZ-bar Skullcrushers 72.6 x 12,9,6
*
Cable twists 44 x 11, 8 (both sets each side)

~The Eats~

Not pictured: protein pudding with rice cakes

Low-fat sausages with sweet potato and apple hash, bagels with XF Cinn Roll sludge

Also had another bagel on the side

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110912-IMGP0383.jpg

Banana bread

Out of the oven..

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110912-IMGP0385-1.jpg

All plated up with some LF cream cheese, good sweet and salty combo

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110912-IMGP0387.jpg

Cheesy chicken in tomato sauce, spaghetti, broccoli

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110912-IMGP0391.jpg

And ended with a few rice cakes and protein pudding..

Macros 201P/552C/38F = 3354 cals

ian0789

09-12-2011, 02:33 PM

Mhhh I am eating Banana Bread as I type this thanks to my GF ;) Its fawking epic goodness and gluten free.

Quelly

09-12-2011, 02:52 PM

foodpr0n

09-12-2011, 03:26 PM

^that.

and fuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaark @ the pics in here, Shaz! :eek:
Still crackin' PR's too!

Prob 2-4lb jump in body weight?

wheathins

09-13-2011, 06:57 AM

I really do think I'll be looking different when I get back to 185 (roughly my pre-bulk weight). I'll post some pics a day or two before I head off to England. That'll be about 5 or 6 weeks into the cut so about time for an update ;)

can't wait to see this right here - gonna look awesome, homey!

Have a great time in Englad and bring back some epic eats pics will ya?!

brendbro

09-13-2011, 07:07 AM

^^^^^ agreed

recipe for that banana bread? bought a phuck load of bananas for dirt cheap on special, need to use them up quickly before they get too rotten!

Dexter3000

09-13-2011, 08:37 AM

for those following the protocol of fasted training and thinking about using BCAA, here's a new study you might want to check out
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21297567
implications for BCAA in a glycogen depleted state are pretty neat

Thanks for sharing that. Interesting indeed. Effects on reducing fatigue seems the most significant.

Icepray

09-14-2011, 10:33 AM

Best. Game. Ever.
I would rep you again if I could, Shaz. FF7 is definitely the most epic game ever. I just started playing 8 again (I never got through the first disc when I purchased it for the first time lol). I decided to buy it again, just to see... though not nearly as good as 7, it's actually a solid game once it gets rolling. NOTHING... i mean NOTHING will touch 7. Love the game so much I got a meteor that has FFVII etched into it in part of my tattoo on my forearm. I also tatood cloud strife on my right thigh a few years back. Yes, I am a fan :)

I agree FF7 is a game I love, I have it on ps1, pc, ps3, I have the spin offs and the movie!

I was going to modify red xiii's tattoo but I didn't like the direction I was going in so I stopped... might look into it again

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v94/Sanik/IMG_0338.jpg

but it's not easy to start off on a design xD pretty bad imo... in my defense it is incomplete

On another note, I was reading on FB and I came accross this http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/early/2011/09/07/ajpendo.00242.2011.abstract

on Layne Norton's page... now I'm not sure if I understood everything but basically it says Protein systhesis lasts 3 hours after a meal containing protein+cho... heh sick of hearing contradictions everywhere

Shazriki

09-14-2011, 03:18 PM

Mhhh I am eating Banana Bread as I type this thanks to my GF ;) Its fawking epic goodness and gluten free.

Haha awesome dude. Good to see you're still alive. I take it life's pretty good for you now yeah? The world wants to know ;)

for those following the protocol of fasted training and thinking about using BCAA, here's a new study you might want to check out
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21297567
implications for BCAA in a glycogen depleted state are pretty neat

Thanks for posting this Eric, will read this soon!

^that.

and fuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaark @ the pics in here, Shaz! :eek:
Still crackin' PR's too!

Prob 2-4lb jump in body weight?

Thanks mate! PRs are indeed still coming, they're just a bit harder these days!

Actually I was only up 0.4 lb post-refeed, which is pretty cool. Seems my body just absorbed the excess carbs :D

can't wait to see this right here - gonna look awesome, homey!

Have a great time in Englad and bring back some epic eats pics will ya?!

I hope so dude, I hope so. I was actually away in Seville (a town in the Southern tip of Spain). I'm moving to England in a little under two weeks when university starts again, so not yet!

^^^^^ agreed

recipe for that banana bread? bought a phuck load of bananas for dirt cheap on special, need to use them up quickly before they get too rotten!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/lower-fat-banana-bread-i/detail.aspx

I replaced the margarine with applesauce and subtituted sweetener for the sugar. I don't have the exact measurements anymore because I deleted the recipe from my food log for some reason.

Thanks for sharing that. Interesting indeed. Effects on reducing fatigue seems the most significant.

Spoiler alert, nah jk need to read this asap.

I agree FF7 is a game I love, I have it on ps1, pc, ps3, I have the spin offs and the movie!

I was going to modify red xiii's tattoo but I didn't like the direction I was going in so I stopped... might look into it again

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v94/Sanik/IMG_0338.jpg

but it's not easy to start off on a design xD pretty bad imo... in my defense it is incomplete

On another note, I was reading on FB and I came accross this http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/early/2011/09/07/ajpendo.00242.2011.abstract

on Layne Norton's page... now I'm not sure if I understood everything but basically it says Protein systhesis lasts 3 hours after a meal containing protein+cho... heh sick of hearing contradictions everywhere

That tattoo looks like a pretty good start, worth continuing with that IMO dude, could turn into something sick! On the subject of tattoos I think I finally found some inspiration to at least start with a basic design. I was visiting the Alhambra in Granada today (a huge castle built on a mountain that used to be the seat of the Moorish rulers back in the 14-15th centuries). I caught site of some relief writing in arabic that looked like this:

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110914-IMGP0518.jpg

I think what I'll do is find a basic shape that I like and have it filled in with chaotic etchings like the ones on that wall. Sure that level of complexity on a tattoo might be difficult, and it might be more painful/expensive, but I want it to be done exactly the way I want it. Maybe something like a triforce done in the style of those arabic etchings? Would be sick.

It's actually the leucine itself that is responsible for increasing MPS. Carbs reduce muscle breakdown which improves net MPS but don't affect MPS directly. Btw the magic number is 4g of leucine to maximize MPS, which most good BCAA mixture provide in a single serving. Anyway that's splitting hairs because the act of weight training alone stimulates an increase in MPS for 72 hours in the trained muscle group.

ian0789

09-14-2011, 03:23 PM

Its all about the MGS Games >_> Just saying....

Shazriki

09-14-2011, 03:24 PM

Back bishes!

Had a great time down south in Seville with my father, got to eat some great food and see a beautiful city the way it's meant to be seen - on your own two feet and through the viewfinder of a camera :) Today on the way home we stopped in Spain's most well-known tourist attraction: the Alhambra. The place is huge, and in addition to some truly awesome landscape shots, I also found some inspiration for tattoo art, so who knows, maybe by this time next year I'll have finally lost my ink virginity. Boom boom.

Will do a regular update tomorrow, for now will just leave you with some food porn from the trip:

Fried shrimp cakes

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110913-IMGP0402.jpg

Solomillo al roquefort (pork filets in a roquefort sauce)

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110913-IMGP0403-1.jpg

Chicken in almond-cream sauce

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110913-IMGP0473.jpg

Entrecote

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110913-IMGP0474.jpg

Honey-glazed ribs

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110914-IMGP0486.jpg

66jzmstr

09-14-2011, 03:51 PM

This food pr0n is full of both PWN and WIN.

NICE!! :)

beefcake66

09-14-2011, 05:31 PM

I've never played FF7 but I do own it and I've seen pretty much the entire game played....... You guys ever check out Legend of Dragoon (PS1) ?? One of the hands down best RPG's ever IMO :D

Dexter3000

09-14-2011, 11:13 PM

Shaz do you ever get weird looks when you pull out your camera in the restaurants? Also, kinda jelly on your eats man.. wish I had the means to eat like that every day :)

And uh, a tattoo? you're getting all bad-ass now huh ;)

Icepray

09-15-2011, 12:14 AM

That tattoo looks like a pretty good start, worth continuing with that IMO dude, could turn into something sick! On the subject of tattoos I think I finally found some inspiration to at least start with a basic design. I was visiting the Alhambra in Granada today (a huge castle built on a mountain that used to be the seat of the Moorish rulers back in the 14-15th centuries). I caught site of some relief writing in arabic that looked like this

One thing, my first tattoo was overly complicated according to 2 artists so they told me to change it up, make it smaller so it would be cheaper and hurt less... I didn't want to do that, I found one who did it the size and simplified it as little as possible, did it hurt? f*ck yeah! am I happy? f*ck yeah :P

it'll be there your whole life so get it done exactly how you want it, I was so anal about the size/position we had to put the "calque" on me 3-4times but now I got 2 tattoos I'm very proud of and most probably might get a 3rd in a little over a year (need to calm down 2 in a year)

I like the idea, just don't get bent on the idea of getting one done and rush it tis all

Its all about the MGS Games >_> Just saying....

I agree with this too :P

Shazriki

09-15-2011, 01:13 AM

This food pr0n is full of both PWN and WIN.

NICE!! :)

Thanks Dave, your stuff has been excellent lately too. End of your cut coming up, excited much? :D

I've never played FF7 but I do own it and I've seen pretty much the entire game played....... You guys ever check out Legend of Dragoon (PS1) ?? One of the hands down best RPG's ever IMO :D

Get on dat Beef, srs. I heard of Legend of Dragoon but never played it, can't remember WHAT I was playing in 2001 lol.

Shaz do you ever get weird looks when you pull out your camera in the restaurants? Also, kinda jelly on your eats man.. wish I had the means to eat like that every day :)

And uh, a tattoo? you're getting all bad-ass now huh ;)

Well in this case since I was sightseeing in Seville anyway my camera was already out AND we were the only two people in the restaurant which made things nice and easy. In general though no major weird looks, I think food photography is becoming more and more popular these days, if I look on facebook one or two of my friends who have nothing to do with bb'ing take pics of their food sometimes, and other people in my family have done it for ages. And you know, I don't eat like that every day, just when I'm on vacation... with the parents ;)

Been thinking about a tatt for a long time now, but I am the classic overthinker which I suppose is a good thing - I'll never run into a tattoo parlour with a picture of homer simpson and get it tattooed on my ass for the luls.

One thing, my first tattoo was overly complicated according to 2 artists so they told me to change it up, make it smaller so it would be cheaper and hurt less... I didn't want to do that, I found one who did it the size and simplified it as little as possible, did it hurt? f*ck yeah! am I happy? f*ck yeah :P

it'll be there your whole life so get it done exactly how you want it, I was so anal about the size/position we had to put the "calque" on me 3-4times but now I got 2 tattoos I'm very proud of and most probably might get a 3rd in a little over a year (need to calm down 2 in a year)

I like the idea, just don't get bent on the idea of getting one done and rush it tis all

I agree with this too :P

No doubt dude, thanks a lot for the advice. It's definitely not something I would rush into although I am a big fan of the idea. Just lately I've been thinking a lot more about what I would want and so that's how this has all come about. As for the pain thing, after the summer of 2009 where I got my 4 wisdom teeth removed in two separate sessions I like to think I've developed a pretty good pain threshold so as long as it looks good = win!

MGS was a great series but I only got into it on the PS2 (Sons of Liberty) which is ALSO one of my favorite games of all time.

Icepray

09-15-2011, 03:19 AM

No doubt dude, thanks a lot for the advice. It's definitely not something I would rush into although I am a big fan of the idea. Just lately I've been thinking a lot more about what I would want and so that's how this has all come about. As for the pain thing, after the summer of 2009 where I got my 4 wisdom teeth removed in two separate sessions I like to think I've developed a pretty good pain threshold so as long as it looks good = win!

MGS was a great series but I only got into it on the PS2 (Sons of Liberty) which is ALSO one of my favorite games of all time.

Hehe the pain is ok, places where I got hurt was near the ribs, lowe back on the spine and the pecs =( oh god the pecs sucked lol it feels like a kitten scratching you so it's totally bareable but my back was done in 14hours, I went 3x for 3-4hours and after 1 hour of being needled it gets annoying, the shoulder wasn't bad at all tho -> Head, ribs, pecs hurt the rest not really

check out more than 1 artist for your tattoo, I didn't go to the most popular spot and I don't regret it (they are well known tho) when you find the idea you like then comes the questions where and when :P

66jzmstr

09-15-2011, 07:31 AM

Thanks Dave, your stuff has been excellent lately too. End of your cut coming up, excited much? :DThanks, and absolutely!

BTW, in FF news, FFXIII-2 has just been dated for release this winter, and Sony at TGS announced an HD remaster of FFX. Kinda cool, but would have rather seen a remaster or remake of VII or VIII. Oh well.

Tengil

09-15-2011, 07:34 AM

Thanks, and absolutely!

BTW, in FF news, FFXIII-2 has just been dated for release this winter, and Sony at TGS announced an HD remaster of FFX. Kinda cool, but would have rather seen a remaster or remake of VII or VIII. Oh well.

Seriously, the amount of people wanting a remake of VII has to be far greater than those preferring X... SadFFVIIface.jpg

vitornoob

09-15-2011, 07:36 AM

Ha, someone got dat ribs....

amazing food, man

beefcake66

09-15-2011, 07:43 AM

Dexter3000

09-15-2011, 08:42 AM

Hey Shaz just a quick question if you have time for it: would you mind sharing a recipe for pizza dough? I can find some online and know how to make the toppings, but I guess you have a great recipe for the g00d stuff when it comes to dough.

Gracias!

lakergreat1

09-15-2011, 11:11 AM

Thanks for chiming in dude! I strongly suspect Martin formulated some of his ideas after reading Lyle's work. This discussion makes me wish more and more that someone would do a controlled study of people following the leangains protocol, to examine some of the mechanisms which make it such an effective way to diet.

*Cough* *Cough* Coach Eric!! Get on that!!

Anecdotally, since taking BCAAs pre-WO I've noticed that day-to-day recovery has improved and I feel less sore going into my workouts two days later. It could be placebo but I like to think something physiological is happening too.

I am NEVER sore anymore from my workouts since taking Xtend. Now granted I probably overdue it taking 3 servings pre and 3 servings post, but I enjoy the flavour, hydration and count each serving towards my protein intake.

But I'm very curious to hear people's thoughts.. I can already guess it will be suggested I'm overdosing.. lol

Vanilla proats with PB&Co CRS (because you guys love it)

Can I ask what you do with the Tiny PB&Co? Quickly smash it at the beginning of the oats? Mix it in and get subtle hints of it throughout? Maybe save it to the end as "piece de resistance?"

Low-fat sausages with sweet potato and apple hash, bagels with XF Cinn Roll sludge

Recipe please for sweet potato/apple hash.

All plated up with some LF cream cheese, good sweet and salty combo

Same goes with LF cream cheese spread for banana bread

gobbles23

09-15-2011, 11:31 AM

Thanks, and absolutely!

BTW, in FF news, FFXIII-2 has just been dated for release this winter, and Sony at TGS announced an HD remaster of FFX. Kinda cool, but would have rather seen a remaster or remake of VII or VIII. Oh well.

Was browsing randomly and stumbled upon this :D Really!? I liked FFX, a remake would be sweet! Obviously not as sweet as Final Fantasy 7 remake, but still! Gone to go read about that!

gobbles23

09-15-2011, 11:35 AM

I've never played FF7 but I do own it and I've seen pretty much the entire game played....... You guys ever check out Legend of Dragoon (PS1) ?? One of the hands down best RPG's ever IMO :D

lol! I started playing that a few months ago on the ps3!!! Graphics were just terrible, but the gameplay was sweet! I made it to disk 2 and then I had to go buy Disgaea 3 because I needed a new game to play and there's an extreme lack of JRPG out now...I wish I had to play it back in the day!!! I wish Xenoblade/Last Story were coming out here :mad: Sorry for the random comments- I just got excited reading about all the game talk :)

Shazriki

09-15-2011, 02:19 PM

Hehe the pain is ok, places where I got hurt was near the ribs, lowe back on the spine and the pecs =( oh god the pecs sucked lol it feels like a kitten scratching you so it's totally bareable but my back was done in 14hours, I went 3x for 3-4hours and after 1 hour of being needled it gets annoying, the shoulder wasn't bad at all tho -> Head, ribs, pecs hurt the rest not really

check out more than 1 artist for your tattoo, I didn't go to the most popular spot and I don't regret it (they are well known tho) when you find the idea you like then comes the questions where and when :P

Oh well if it's anything like a cat scratching you then I should be a master at dealing with the pain - my cat is freaking psychotic.

I have a friend on my course who is really into tatts, he has one sleeve completed and will probably get another one done of the next year. His guy is well known so I might see if I can look him up for a consult.

Thanks, and absolutely!

BTW, in FF news, FFXIII-2 has just been dated for release this winter, and Sony at TGS announced an HD remaster of FFX. Kinda cool, but would have rather seen a remaster or remake of VII or VIII. Oh well.

Hm weird that they would touch up FFX. I mean I can understand it from a development point of view.. it would take much less design work to bring up FFX graphics compared to FFVII but still... it's time for FFVII to get an update!

Seriously, the amount of people wanting a remake of VII has to be far greater than those preferring X... SadFFVIIface.jpg

Completely agree brah.

Ha, someone got dat ribs....

amazing food, man

/bow ;)

I'd love a remake of FF7, and a re-release of all the originals on xbox or something of the sort! I like the really old style games lol

There's something so satisfying about dusting off an old game and playing it through again. It's sort of like bumping into an old friend on the street or something. :D

Hey Shaz just a quick question if you have time for it: would you mind sharing a recipe for pizza dough? I can find some online and know how to make the toppings, but I guess you have a great recipe for the g00d stuff when it comes to dough.

Gracias!

No problemo!

200g flour
1 tsp olive oil
10g yeast
pinch of sugar
about 5g salt
100ml warm water

Assuming you want to use it straight away, dissolve yeast in 100ml warm (but not hot) water.
Combine flour, salt, olive oil and mix together
Add yeast mixture to flour
Add the pinch of sugar
Knead the dough for roughly 5-10 mins*

*I use a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment... doing this by hand would be a pain..

Good luck dude. And if things get sticky, just pat down the dough with a sprinkle of flour and it'll become much easier to handle - shouldn't happen though.

*Cough* *Cough* Coach Eric!! Get on that!!

I am NEVER sore anymore from my workouts since taking Xtend. Now granted I probably overdue it taking 3 servings pre and 3 servings post, but I enjoy the flavour, hydration and count each serving towards my protein intake.

But I'm very curious to hear people's thoughts.. I can already guess it will be suggested I'm overdosing.. lol

Can I ask what you do with the Tiny PB&Co? Quickly smash it at the beginning of the oats? Mix it in and get subtle hints of it throughout? Maybe save it to the end as "piece de resistance?"

Recipe please for sweet potato/apple hash.

Same goes with LF cream cheese spread for banana bread

Haha, 6 servings of BCAAs on workout days.. you beast! Brb never having doms again. Hey, if it works for you then that's all that matters.

If I put PB in oats I'll usually spoon it up little by little... doesn't last long though...

Sweet potato and apple hash is mighty simple: chop a sweet potato and an apple. Saute the sweet potatos over medium heat in some Pam or butter to suit your macros. When the sweet potatoes have softened up add the chopped apple and begin sprinkling cinnamon liberally (more is better, yes). When the apples start browning over slightly the dish is ready. You could take it a step further and caramelize the whole thing with some brown sugar... prepare your body though, it's too much awesome in every mouthful.

Was browsing randomly and stumbled upon this :D Really!? I liked FFX, a remake would be sweet! Obviously not as sweet as Final Fantasy 7 remake, but still! Gone to go read about that!

lol! I started playing that a few months ago on the ps3!!! Graphics were just terrible, but the gameplay was sweet! I made it to disk 2 and then I had to go buy Disgaea 3 because I needed a new game to play and there's an extreme lack of JRPG out now...I wish I had to play it back in the day!!! I wish Xenoblade/Last Story were coming out here :mad: Sorry for the random comments- I just got excited reading about all the game talk :)

LOL no worries, I'm loving all the RPG misc going on lately :D

FF7 remake >>> FFX remake, fo sho :cool:

FFX was good though, in fairness. I just wasn't as big a fan of the sphere grid as I was a fan of the typical auto-levelling system you have in FF7 and 8... call me old fashioned :)

Shazriki

09-15-2011, 02:40 PM

15 September 2011

Well after a great couple of days away it felt good to get back into the gym and back on the macros. I actually think I did myself some good taking a couple of days off from the gym, since cardio felt really easy today and aside from being unusually hungry throughout the morning, energy was up.

My refeed went pretty well as I only gained 0.4lb the following morning (tuesday). The only thing I will do differently next time is actually try eating a few more refined sources and lower fiber a bit. By the end of the day I was very much a blocked up mess and I think I'm still feeling the effects somewhat now. I know it isn't the LX causing the semi-constipation because I've been taking it for a month now without any problems. It wasn't dehydration either because I generally drink water like a fiend. I guess next time I'll do less bread and more pasta and cereal just to see how that goes. Blocked up or not, it was a good learning experience doing a properly structured refeed for a change, I think my body handled the carbs pretty well and I could possibly do even more CHO in future refeeds.

Also just a little FYI I'm going to be dropping the not pictured section of the eats just because I think you guys know that I mainly just post the best meals of the day.

Morning weight 200.6 (post-refeed 199.2)

As I thought I'm up a bit following my trip. I suspect the majority of the bloat is due to sodium actually, since I could taste that the food, while delicious, was heavily seasoned. I don't expect much of it is actually legit weigh gain, in fact I think I'm looking slightly leaner. In any case I'll give myself until saturday/sunday to see what happens and then I might do another little macro drop just to get things moving along again.

~The Workout~

Elliptical 400 cals burned in 35:15

~The Eats~

Another giant tuna salad

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110915-IMGP0552.jpg

Thick PB&J sandwich

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110915-IMGP0553-1.jpg

Macros 221P/280C/72F = 2652 cals

foodpr0n

09-15-2011, 03:24 PM

snrygo

09-15-2011, 07:04 PM

foodpr0n

09-15-2011, 09:37 PM

I took a lot from Borge F.agerli (myoreps guy) for this; and, low and behold I feel/look much better. Again, I don't fully restrict it (generally have one sandwich (sourdough) a day and don't like or wanna pay out the arse for gluten free bread), but I do watch it these days and of course if I feel like eating a bunch of wheat based things or want something at a particular restaurant - I do it.

I prefer everyone drop out wheat-based products at least for a trial period, I generally find that within this context people get more energy and less bloating. Not everyone, but once you start making exceptions everyone believe they are the exception. Sourdough and sprouted grain breads are preferred if you decide to use them.

Give it 3-4 weeks and see if you notice any difference. Then reintroduce grains/oatmeal or whatever. This is the point where many will go from "don't feel any different" to "woah, I'm soo sleepy and feel so bloated". Note that some of it is just your body having to upregulate various enzymes (the bloating) and especially so if you didn't replace the grains with other carb sources.

Lol when people argue :D It's not as if he's 'preaching' it, merely suggesting it to people and letting them see how it goes for them

And here's the thing - you are an adult person (I assume) free to make your own decisions and choices, I won't spend time approving or disapproving every single change or alternate foods people come up with. The diet is a lifestyle approach and about being more in tune with your body, where you can be very flexible within the guidelines given. It's not that hard. Really.

So for me, these days I eat a lot of rice cakes (.........a lot), rice, potatoes, corn, apples, oranges, berries, yogurt, low fat ice cream, chocolate bars, sourdough bread and occasionally pasta/cereal and I feel much better. Don't really too much in the way of oats these days as it just sits in my stomach, sometimes I'll have it before bed if I want to feel full before nodding off, generally rice cakes and sludge though:p

Vanilla rice pudding is a great addition to my diet these days!

Dexter3000

09-15-2011, 11:12 PM

No problemo!

200g flour
1 tsp olive oil
10g yeast
pinch of sugar
about 5g salt
100ml warm water

Assuming you want to use it straight away, dissolve yeast in 100ml warm (but not hot) water.
Combine flour, salt, olive oil and mix together
Add yeast mixture to flour
Add the pinch of sugar
Knead the dough for roughly 5-10 mins*

*I use a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment... doing this by hand would be a pain..

Good luck dude. And if things get sticky, just pat down the dough with a sprinkle of flour and it'll become much easier to handle - shouldn't happen though.

Thanks man! I'll see if I use the mixer or do it by hand.. working on that grip strength ;)

Shazriki

09-16-2011, 01:16 AM

"less bread, more pasta and cereal"....lol same sort of thing mate :)
The blocked "up-ness" could have in general just been the gluten/wheat.

Try MORE potato ...rice, corn, rice cakes, low fat ice cream next time
I feel substantially better on less wheat. Not saying cut it out completely, but limiting it can help! You had an abundance of flour and pasta on dat dere re-feed day.

Hell, I had six slices of bread yesterday compared to my normal two and feel a bit congested inside today, no BM this morning etc.

Actually.. good point lol pasta and cereal are more or less the same...

I'll give it a shot. At first I thought I'd somehow gotten too much fiber in but then thinking about it: I eat oats and lots of veggies on most days without any problems so WTF? Fiber and me get on pretty well.

And yes I had a crap load of bread now that I think about it: 2 bagels, an entire banana bread (210g flour), a large serving of pasta.. yea it isn't a surprise.

hmm, i should try this and see how i feel considering i eat wheat multiple times per day and i feel great... wonder if i will start flying without wheat :p

If you're having irregular BMs due to eating it then maybe, but otherwise wouldn't change anything if your diet makes you feel good as it is ;)

I took a lot from Borge F.agerli (myoreps guy) for this; and, low and behold I feel/look much better. Again, I don't fully restrict it (generally have one sandwich (sourdough) a day and don't like or wanna pay out the arse for gluten free bread), but I do watch it these days and of course if I feel like eating a bunch of wheat based things or want something at a particular restaurant - I do it.

Lol when people argue :D It's not as if he's 'preaching' it, merely suggesting it to people and letting them see how it goes for them

So for me, these days I eat a lot of rice cakes (.........a lot), rice, potatoes, corn, apples, oranges, berries, yogurt, low fat ice cream, chocolate bars, sourdough bread and occasionally pasta/cereal and I feel much better. Don't really too much in the way of oats these days as it just sits in my stomach, sometimes I'll have it before bed if I want to feel full before nodding off, generally rice cakes and sludge though:p

Vanilla rice pudding is a great addition to my diet these days!

Interesting quotes. I'll definitely just eat more sweet potatoes and rice cakes (I love them both) next time around. Also I'll have more fruit since I only had like one serving of fruit (well 3 if you count the mashed bananas) over the course of the whole day. Oatmeal agrees with me but I would think it doesn't go too well on a refeed when trying to keep fat low (7g of fat per 100g oatmeal). I wish we had low fat ice cream here in Spain but I've searched far and wide and it just isn't available - only sugar free stuff for the diabetics which doesn't really help me much :p

Thanks a lot for the tips though, my next refeed is a couple of weeks off yet so I'll be back in the UK by then. I should have access to a lot more "diety" food then re: ice cream and stuff like that.

Thanks man! I'll see if I use the mixer or do it by hand.. working on that grip strength ;)

You will have the grip of Zeus if you start kneading dough regularly by hand. IMO get a mixer :p

vitornoob

09-16-2011, 03:56 AM

Shazriki

09-16-2011, 01:41 PM

Humm...good tips from limiting wheat intake, i will try to substitute weetabix with rice cakes, i was eating almost everyday...

Btw, Shaz, my friend told me that he was not constipate during LX, but the volume reduced a lot
Take a look if see anything different from LX, i have noticed that my volume in the mornings is reduced, but not constipate...
Caan you give the recipe from your sweet potatoes and apples?

Nope, no reduction in volume that is directly attributable to the LX as far as I can tell. My volume did go down since starting the diet but as you can imagine going from 3.5-4k cals per day to less than 3k every leads to less action on the toilet.

For the sweets:

Sweet potato and apple hash is mighty simple: chop a sweet potato and an apple. Saute the sweet potatos over medium heat in some Pam or butter to suit your macros. When the sweet potatoes have softened up add the chopped apple and begin sprinkling cinnamon liberally (more is better, yes). When the apples start browning over slightly the dish is ready. You could take it a step further and caramelize the whole thing with some brown sugar... prepare your body though, it's too much awesome in every mouthful.

vitornoob

09-16-2011, 01:44 PM

humm, understand, well, i will have to see after finishing it....

btw, thanks for the recipe, will be doing monday for a PWO

Shazriki

09-16-2011, 02:02 PM

16 September 2011

Tough workout today, but for me they always are following any kind of break/vacation. Conditioning your body to any sort of frequent training is a double-edged sword: it's great while you're in the groove but break the routine in any sort of way and the first workout back will be noticeably rougher. It's just one workout though which in the grand scheme of things is nada. I still got it all done so that's all that matters.

Rest of the day was spent chilling and I made a start on some of the packing since I've got a mover coming on wednesday to take my stuff over to Bath.

Morning weight 198.8

Big drop from yesterday, looked pretty lean today so maybe I got away with my indiscretions the past couple of days :D

~The Workout~

Squats 262.9 x 5 x 3
*
BB Bench Press 185.9 x 6 x 2, 4
*
BB row 185.9 x 6 x 3
*
Rotary Calf 132 x (can't actually remember, didn't note)
*
Ham curl w/ slow negatives 132 x 17 + 5,5,4

~The Eats~

Sweet chili chicken stirfry with basmati rice

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110916-IMGP0555.jpg

ON Vanilla/Quark with crunchy nut and bananas

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110916-IMGP0556.jpg

Butterflied chicken breast with a pile of boiled sweet potatoes

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110916-IMGP0558.jpg

XF CnC, quark, PB sludge with cheerios

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110916-IMGP0559.jpg

Macros 217P/371C/50F = 2802 cals

A day without oats... damn...

Bnizzle163

09-16-2011, 02:14 PM

A day without oats... damn...

Shame on you sir, shame on you... :p

snrygo

09-16-2011, 02:44 PM

Hmmm, [smartmode]it would seem as though a day without oats equals a day without pr's for you[/smarticles] :p

Edit: damn it SHAZ! Your cut is going awesome! Sadly, my damn bulk has me stalled out at 120-121 consistently for the last week even on 3.3k! :(

I guess I'll have to increase cals

Shazriki

09-16-2011, 03:08 PM

Shame on you sir, shame on you... :p

I know I know. Mind is full of fcuk. :(

Hmmm, [smartmode]it would seem as though a day without oats equals a day without pr's for you[/smarticles] :p

Edit: damn it SHAZ! Your cut is going awesome! Sadly, my damn bulk has me stalled out at 120-121 consistently for the last week even on 3.3k! :(

I guess I'll have to increase cals

Well observed haha ;) In the future I won't risk it, or will I?

Thanks dude, it's going fine, not too fast, not too slow, things are trucking along. I'm just glad that I got through those couple of days eating and drinking what I wanted and it looks like my body was like "thanks and I'll have seconds now." Just raise cals dude, in fact, don't even worry about the cals, just keep eating more until you gain at the rate you want. Going by numbers why not try an extra 200 cals a day (assuming you're doing 3.3k a day)

Shazriki

09-17-2011, 01:39 PM

17 September 2011

Pretty chilled day today. Went to the gym in the morning for some cardio, experimented with a new dish for lunch and did some gaming. Was pretty sore after yesterday's workout (I had a few near-failure moments yesterday so I was really pushing it). This evening I teamed up with my dad to make the classic risotto and chicken kiev (practically a family tradition), turned out awesome as usual :D

Tomorrow will be hitting up the beach for some tanning and bird watching. Should be fun!

Morning weight 198

Nice little drop again, expecting steady progress into the 197's and lower next week. All told I should be set for about 8ish lbs down in about 6 weeks of dieting - not bad!

~The Eats~

Savory oatmeal with cheese, ground turkey, onions and green peppers; topped with spicy smoked paprika

Nice little variation on a risotto type dish, very nice - not comparable to proats IMO they are two completely different kinds of food

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110917-IMGP0560-1.jpg

Chicken kiev and risotto

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110917-IMGP0562.jpg

Macros 218P/279C/74F = 2654 cals

Tomorrow

snrygo

09-17-2011, 05:03 PM

Shazriki

09-18-2011, 12:43 PM

savory oats FTMFW!! they are even better when you use steel cut oats because of the added texture.

also, i reccomend toasting the oats for a couple minutes first to really get some real flavor goin!

food looks great!

That's a great idea actually, but so far I've only seen quick oats available here in Spain. When I go to the UK I'll definitely look into them because it's like instant risotto (almost). Takes about a quarter the amount of time if that to make.

When you say toast I assume you mean the way you "toast" the arborio rice before adding the stock when you make risotto, yes?

Shazriki

09-18-2011, 12:55 PM

18 September 2011

Well, that was about as successful a rest day as anyone could ask for. Had a leisurely morning, walked the dog, arranged a few more things for the move, made some lunch then headed to the beach. Followed by some sports and gaming in the afternoon (Liverpool lost ffs - soccer). Got my last full week of training in Spain ahead of me, and I already have a goal for the week: match my previous shoulder press PR. I've deloaded for two weeks now and this week I completely missed my wednesday workout so my shoulders should be ready for it.

Morning weight 200.2

Slightly bloated from dinner with the family last night, guess I worked out the macros incorrectly. TBH not that bothered since weekends always seem to be two steps forward one step back when it comes to eating with the family. If that's what it takes to maintain a healthy balance then that's how it'll be. Funny thing is, even with these bloat numbers I haven't had a single weekly average that wasn't down from the previous (albeit this weeks was only very, very slighty lower). The only slightly annoying thing is that they make it hard to determine whether or not cals need to be dropped. Will probably be keeping things the same until I get back to the UK, then see what happens from here.

~The Eats~

Scrambled eggs with ground turkey, onions and peppers (edit: and mushrooms); baked beans

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110918-IMGP0563.jpg

Horse filet with spaghetti and pesto

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110918-IMGP0565-1.jpg

Macros 211P/254C/70F = 2490 cals + a glass of Rioja wine <3

gobbles23

09-18-2011, 01:32 PM

Dear god come cook for me :p

snrygo

09-18-2011, 05:39 PM

That's a great idea actually, but so far I've only seen quick oats available here in Spain. When I go to the UK I'll definitely look into them because it's like instant risotto (almost). Takes about a quarter the amount of time if that to make.

When you say toast I assume you mean the way you "toast" the arborio rice before adding the stock when you make risotto, yes?

exactly... by the way, check out today's post for ideas :p

brendbro

09-18-2011, 09:24 PM

if savoury oats is anything like risotto then I really need to give it a try, risotto is just about my favourite thing in the world. chicken kiev looks fanbloodytastic!!

bigjimmy123

09-19-2011, 07:09 AM

Hey Shaz sry to be a pain but I am trying to incorporate IF into my bulking routine and was wondering if you would be able to take a look at the Q's on my log I'm struggling with as I know you know what your talking about. Thx

Uni starts nxt week for me looking forward to finishing this last yr, how bout u?

Thx Jimmy

Shazriki

09-19-2011, 02:00 PM

Dear god come cook for me :p

Your place or mine?

exactly... by the way, check out today's post for ideas :p

Word, I checked out those oats you did - fantastical.

if savoury oats is anything like risotto then I really need to give it a try, risotto is just about my favourite thing in the world. chicken kiev looks fanbloodytastic!!

Yes do give it a shot mate but like Snrygo said you should give it a shot with steel cut oats, should come out tasting like risotto but with a different texture. Chicken kiev was awesome, I've made it myself a couple of times but my dad OWNS that dish.

Hey Shaz sry to be a pain but I am trying to incorporate IF into my bulking routine and was wondering if you would be able to take a look at the Q's on my log I'm struggling with as I know you know what your talking about. Thx

Uni starts nxt week for me looking forward to finishing this last yr, how bout u?

Thx Jimmy

Not a pain at all dude, I'll head on over later tonight. I have been keeping up with things it's just that I've been spending less time on bb.com during the day aside from updating etc.

Well I've got the move coming up next tuesday but uni doesn't start till the first week of october. Massively looking forward to it as well, though I know my lecturers are going to absolutely rape us with coursework from the get go. It's going to tough, but fun (since I'm a nerd) :D

Shazriki

09-19-2011, 02:19 PM

19 September 2011

Squats felt 10x better today, especially in my core. Seems that my stability muscles are coming into the lift more and more now, despite form remaining the same. Made improvements in all my other lifts so I'm pretty pleased with that. I feel like I'll stay at the current weight with squats for another week or so before attempting another increase. If I time it right, I'll have my magnetic platemates waiting for me at my house in the UK, so I can start taking advantage of them right away.

Still absolutely loving the lat pulls, the squeeze is amazing and my biceps are still getting as blasted as they were on chins. The next spice-up I'll be making to my routine is substituting deadlifts for RDLs when I get back to my university gym. So again, that's starting from next week. The gym there is well and truly geared up for powerlifting, with hardwood lanes and proper olympic plates/bars (all standard equipment). In order to accomodate the extra strain without destroying myself, I'll probably drop to a single heavy set of deads. First day back I'll also most likely test my max, aiming for 350+.

Morning weight 198.8

~The Workout~

Squats 262.9 x 5 x 3
*
DB Bench Press 66 x 9 x 2, 7
*
CG Lat pulldowns 154 x 12 + 3,3,3,3,3
*
EZ bar skullcrushers 72.6 x 10 x 3 Rep PR
*
Stir the pot 14, 10

~The Eats~

Turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese on rye

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110919-IMGP0567-1.jpg

Horse filet with baked beans and tomatoes

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110919-IMGP0568.jpg

XF CR/ON proats with Galician honey

This looks like a fcking train wreck I'll admit but this is the best honey I've ever tasted, so I thought it was worthy of a snapshot

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110919-IMGP0570.jpg

Macros 219P/370C/50F = 2806 cals

vitornoob

09-19-2011, 02:35 PM

you eat horse, bro

http://www.freewebs.com/pintolover4618/sad-horse.jpg

notsure....
EHAUEHUAe do want horse ):

btw, i am doing this too, trying to focus in the form, not the weigth, it is 100x better....so some weeks i stay at the same weight..good to know that is improving
your eatings good as always, i have seen that you said about steel cuts oats...you should try for overnight oats, it is precious :9

snrygo

09-19-2011, 05:34 PM

[QUOTE=Shazriki;753457253]
thank you very much! there is still much work to be done on that recipe tho... i should have it down by next week :)

bigjimmy123

09-20-2011, 02:17 AM

Thx for the help Shaz, can I ask how long you would guess your adjustment period was to IF?

Thx

Shazriki

09-20-2011, 06:28 AM

you eat horse, bro

[img]http://www.freewebs.com/pintolover4618/sad-horse.jpg[/ig]

notsure....
EHAUEHUAe do want horse ):

btw, i am doing this too, trying to focus in the form, not the weigth, it is 100x better....so some weeks i stay at the same weight..good to know that is improving
your eatings good as always, i have seen that you said about steel cuts oats...you should try for overnight oats, it is precious :9

Haha you're late to the party, been eating horse for a while now ;)

I think it's really easy to get stuck in th idea that you need to increase the weight or do more reps in each and every workout in order to make progress. The reality is that if going from point A in time to point B you are lifting heavier weight, what you did between A and B doesn't really matter as long as it lets you ift more (I guess that's the basic principle behind periodization). So if I need to stop increasing weight for a few workouts to let my body get accustomed to a new load, so be it.

Going to try steel cut oats ASAP.

[QUOTE=Shazriki;753457253]
thank you very much! there is still much work to be done on that recipe tho... i should have it down by next week :)

I'll be looking out for the final version then! :)

Thx for the help Shaz, can I ask how long you would guess your adjustment period was to IF?

Thx

No worries dude. Adjustment period was almost non-existent for me since I started IF'ing while working. Since I value sleep over a bit of food in the morning, skipping breakfast and eating at lunch came naturally. I suppose I was marginally hungrier during the mornings the first couple of days, but nothing a few cups of coffee and plenty of water couldn't handle.

Shazriki

09-20-2011, 02:24 PM

20 September 2011

Sup brahs. Was busy all day today from AM to PM. Went to the gym first thing to get cardio out of the way, and came home to do a bit of packing before lunch. Had lunch and then took my sister into town to a dentist appointment, then got home to do a bit more packing :p

At least these movers are coming tomorrow and then I'll be able to chill for the rest of the week. For once I'm moving the smart way and not leaving everything to the last minute which makes it even more of a pain in the ass. On that note, I'll probably be sending my scale along with the movers which means that I won't have it back until the 1st of october. Shouldn't be a problem because I know I can lose weight on my current macros/activity level, and I'm likely to be more active at uni just walking around and getting things done. I could of course just weigh in on my parents scale but we all know that no two scales are exactly alike.

Morning weight 198.4

~The Eats~

Ham, potato and onion omelette

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110920-IMGP0571.jpg

Ground turkey with mushrooms and red peppers, snap green beans

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110920-IMGP0573.jpg

Macros 225P/274C/74F = 2662 cals

wheathins

09-21-2011, 10:53 AM

I suppose I was marginally hungrier during the mornings the first couple of days, but nothing a few cups of coffee and plenty of water couldn't handle.

sorry to chime in out of place, Shaz and BigJimmy but I just wanted to reiterate this point. I adopted an IF approach recently and these two things (water, coffee) have absolutely helped quell my hunger pangs when I do get them. Just wanted to toss my 2 cents in there :cool: oh and also diet soda...

- Shaz, you still using the body media on your cut? Even though I'm sticking with Berto for a long while I'm still tempted to get one now that I'm transitioning to off season... hmmm... also I see squat weight is going up and up - that's a sign of good things to come brotha!

Anabolichef

09-21-2011, 12:07 PM

Shame on you sir, shame on you... :p

best be careful because with those legs and shaz eating horse, well you get the idea...

UP IN THIS LOG MOFO!

Shazriki

09-21-2011, 01:41 PM

sorry to chime in out of place, Shaz and BigJimmy but I just wanted to reiterate this point. I adopted an IF approach recently and these two things (water, coffee) have absolutely helped quell my hunger pangs when I do get them. Just wanted to toss my 2 cents in there :cool: oh and also diet soda...

- Shaz, you still using the body media on your cut? Even though I'm sticking with Berto for a long while I'm still tempted to get one now that I'm transitioning to off season... hmmm... also I see squat weight is going up and up - that's a sign of good things to come brotha!

Water and coffee are indispensable. When I think back to my pre-"nutrition aware" days it's crazy the amount of times I would raid the fridge at like 5-6pm in the afternoon and be hungry seconds later. The reason? Because I wasn't really hungry but thirsty, the two signals get mixed up so easily. The difference is that whether you're thirsty or hungry, water will ALWAYS help, if you're thirsty then food does sh!t all.

Btw Matt my latest thing is sparkling water - as refreshing as water and as filling as soda. Try it, might make your reverse a little easier.

I stopped using the BMF several weeks ago when I realized the numbers it was spitting out weren't changing much (i.e. my daily routine was set and activity levels didn't vary). It's definitely a useful tool to determine an approximate maintenance initially and adjust calories from there. In your case where (I suppose) you want to stay as lean as possible while gaining, I would err on the side of caution and take 10% off whatever it reads just so you don't gain too quickly. BTW Berto has used the BMF himself before so shoot him a couple of questions, he gave me some pretty good insight on the BMF re: dieting (and he was right).

Yea man I'm very pleased that I have a solid routine in place that lets me still set PRs even while dieting. Last time I dieted I was already stalling out on my lifts about a month in, it's very different now. :)

best be careful because with those legs and shaz eating horse, well you get the idea...

UP IN THIS LOG MOFO!

Haha! These hooves are gonna keep on growing I promise you that!

Great to have you along mate! Where in the UK are you from if you don't mind me asking? As you might have read I'm studying down in Bath.

tswdan

09-21-2011, 02:00 PM

Shazriki

09-21-2011, 02:13 PM

21 September 2011

Whew busy ass day today. Got up and hit the gym in the morning and had a great session. New PR on front squats and matched my previous PR on SOHP with a bit of gas left in the tank so that felt nice. Was randomly one of the threads in the exercise section where people were talking about squat form and hip drive. Someone mentioned pushing outwards with the feet to really slingshot the hips out of the hole on the squat. This is something I was doing naturally to some degree, but really imagining my feet pushing outwards made the whole movement seem more powerful, so that'll be a useful queue to remember for when I'm really grinding through some heavy back squats.

I really wanted to nail the old SOHP PR just to prove to myself that the deload was worthwhile and not a waste of my time. Now I'm back in the groove, but I need to be careful with this one, I don't want to burn myself out by aiming for a higher increase than what's realistic, so I won't be upping the weight for a couple of weeks, and certainly not before I get my platemates. BB curls were slightly meh, but got some good volume out of the side laterals today so can't complain. To be honest as long as my accessory work maintains I don't really care too much, as long as I'm still able to hit the occasional PR on the big movements.

Pretty much directly post-WO had a doctor's appointment, immediately followed by the unexpectedly early arrival of the dude who's going to be driving my stuff back to the UK. All good though, at least I got the whole thing out of the way relatively early in the afternoon, leaving me free to have a late lunch and chill for the rest of the day.

In other news, I have a fitness client of sorts (lol). My dad asked me to put a little workout routine to supplement his cycling. He gave me a book he's been reading which is geared specifically towards cyclists over 50. In the strength training section it details some complex 6-stage periodization involving an acclimatization phase, a strength phase, a muscular endurance phase, a phase which uses plyometrics, and two others phases I can't remember. Meh - seems overly complicated. Based on the programs I've seen floating around, I know it's possible to work on strength and hypertrophy simultaneously (not in the same workout though). It's not a stretch to imagine that you can work on power and muscular endurance simultaneously. So what I'm thinking is having him in the gym 2x a week with a strength day and an endurance day. Strength day will just be a copy paste from starting strength basically, compounds only I think (less than an hour in the gym). Endurance day will be high reps light weight to build up lactate and getting his muscles better at transporting energy for the longer training sessions. As an amateur I find this pretty exciting in a nerdy kind of way - if anyone has any suggestions would love to hear them.

Morning weight 198.2

Couple of things here:

1) Probably the last weigh in I'll do until like next weekend, when I get my scale back and,
2) New macros:

Training days - 220P/350C/50F
Rest days - 220P/250C/75F

~The Workout~

Front squats 213.4 x 5 x 3 PR
*
Standing BB OH Press 125.4 x 5 x 3
*
RDLs 312.4 x 5 x 2
*
BB Bicep curls 83.6 x 10 + 3,3 Meh
*
DB Lateral raises 22's x 12 + 4,4,4,4,3 Good pump after these

~The Eats~

Bread pudding with chopped apple

Dumped a lil' scoop of XF CR in the wet mix and the flavor came through surprisingly well

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110921-P1020746-1.jpg

Sweet chili chicken stirfry (again)

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110921-P1020752.jpg

Btw my usual camera is in transit now so I won't have it back until next weekend, just using the point and shoot now :(

Macros 220P/353C/49F = 2733 cals

Shazriki

09-21-2011, 02:29 PM

Just subbed in and catching up through your log.

Great stuff so far and glad to see you get to enjoy horse like one of my favorite fighter, ha.

http://www.mmaphotoshops.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Overeem-Horse.gif

Awesome dude, great to have you in! Btw I noticed a tswdan on fitocracy, I assume you are one and the same? I'll be sure to follow your update there. Pretty cool site isn't it?

Haha I just looked up the stats of Overeem. DAYUM. 6'5 and 265lbs.

ian0789

09-21-2011, 04:48 PM

oats_addict

09-21-2011, 08:33 PM

Good to see the weight is still dropping, albeit slightly slower than you would have hoped, poxy fluctuations!

Had a lot of catching up to do, but hope the move and everything goes well for ya bro and enjoy the last of the nice weather in spain! ha

Need to try my hand at savoury oats too. Like Brend^, I love risotto so this could be a new option.

Shazriki

09-22-2011, 01:33 AM

Not really the same but in a way kind of. I like doing PHAT, Upper / Lower Power then Hitting Back/Shoulder, Lower, Chest/Arms Hyper. My strength is going up up up because of it. Id say you might be better with setting him up with one Strength day of just big compound lifts. Bench, Squat, DL, Clean and Press style and then maybe doing a Upper and then a Lower Hyper day if he can do 3x days in the gym. It might be something to give a go with lots of rest days off from lifting but letting him still be able to Cycle as needed.

I think that doing anything with Big Heavy Weight in shorter reps and then coming back at it adding in Hyper is the way to go after doing PHAT. I loved doing Upper Lower Upper Lower Hyper but I felt like I burnt out on all the same lifts I am doing now with not gaining much strength in a lot of my powerful "BIG" lifts.

Yep, PHAT was what I was referring to actually, except this would be called Power Endurance Alternating Training :p I would actually love to see him in the gym 3x a week, but since he rides 5x a week (sometimes more), and since riding is the priority, it would be tricky to commit to a frequency of more than 2x a week. Unless he starts running 2 a days but since he's over 50 and doesn't have a great handle on nutrition I wouldn't really want that.

I was thinking about the clean & press or just SOHP for the strength day, but I think bench will be enough simply because it better mimics the position of the hands on the handle bars of the bike relative to the torso. Gotta make the training specific, since he's only really interested in making the cycling easier.

Good to see the weight is still dropping, albeit slightly slower than you would have hoped, poxy fluctuations!

Had a lot of catching up to do, but hope the move and everything goes well for ya bro and enjoy the last of the nice weather in spain! ha

Need to try my hand at savoury oats too. Like Brend^, I love risotto so this could be a new option.

Haha yea fluctuations are annoying, but no scale for the next week so I don't have to worry about them anymore ;)

Cheers man, I really think this will be the most stress free move of my life to date - no long car journeys, have the majority of my stuff packed and sent off a week before I actually move myself... much less stress. Plus since my stuff is arriving a few days after I arrive it leaves me time to sort out other things like bus pass etc. without the crunch of living amongst moving boxes :D

Try the savory oats my man, you won't be disappoint.

ian0789

09-22-2011, 02:31 AM

tswdan

09-22-2011, 07:02 AM

Awesome dude, great to have you in! Btw I noticed a tswdan on fitocracy, I assume you are one and the same? I'll be sure to follow your update there. Pretty cool site isn't it?

Haha I just looked up the stats of Overeem. DAYUM. 6'5 and 265lbs.

Yessir, that's me. I'll follow you back on there. Yeah, check out when he was early in his career and was under 195lbs. Insane that he is such a monster now. He's set to fight Brock Lesnar for a title shot down the road. Can. Not. Way.

Also, that sweet chicken chili stuff looks incredible. Need to try and make something similar.

Shazriki

09-22-2011, 07:22 AM

Hang Clean & Press hits so many muscle groups its not even funny. If he isnt going to be doing a lot of lifting then it would be smart to add in a lift like that that will target a ton of different muscle groups in one compound. If you add him add in 1warm up set and 2-3 Working sets it would be a smart move. And since he is only doing 2x days a week id definitely do it. Neglecting muscles wont do him any good ;) Its like guys who train chest and arms only but there legs and back look silly and underdeveloped lol!

Actually that's a good call dude, I just looked at a video and forgot how explosive a movement it is. Great suggestion. So yea it looks like 3x5 for bench, deads, hang C&P, and squats ofc. Actually I'm not sure if the gym he goes to has a power rack so I might just do leg press instead of squats. No idea what I'm going to do for the endurance days but due to the high reps I'm thinking more machines and less free weights. Leg press, chest press, seated row, hyperextensions, calves and shoulder press, couple sets of 20-25 reps each.

Shazriki

09-22-2011, 07:27 AM

Yessir, that's me. I'll follow you back on there. Yeah, check out when he was early in his career and was under 195lbs. Insane that he is such a monster now. He's set to fight Brock Lesnar for a title shot down the road. Can. Not. Way.

Also, that sweet chicken chili stuff looks incredible. Need to try and make something similar.

Tbh I'm way way way behind the curve when it comes to MMA. I watched a bit of UFC but I just sort of stopped for no good reason. As far as contact sports go MMA is definitely my favorite, just the combination of skill and brutality make it such a spectacle. I mean some these guys have blackbelts in like 3-4 different martial arts, nuts! Do you know when that fight is on, I'll keep my eyes open for it?

I dunno what sauces you have available in the US, but in the UK/Europe there is a brand called "Sharwoods" which does a thai sweet chili sauce. It's meant for dipping hors d'oeuvres in, but works so well as a stir fry sauce.

brendbro

09-22-2011, 07:36 AM

Also, that sweet chicken chili stuff looks incredible. Need to try and make something similar.

forget the chicken, mouthgasm @ that bread pudding!!

tswdan

09-22-2011, 08:57 AM

Tbh I'm way way way behind the curve when it comes to MMA. I watched a bit of UFC but I just sort of stopped for no good reason. As far as contact sports go MMA is definitely my favorite, just the combination of skill and brutality make it such a spectacle. I mean some these guys have blackbelts in like 3-4 different martial arts, nuts! Do you know when that fight is on, I'll keep my eyes open for it?

I dunno what sauces you have available in the US, but in the UK/Europe there is a brand called "Sharwoods" which does a thai sweet chili sauce. It's meant for dipping hors d'oeuvres in, but works so well as a stir fry sauce.

Their fight is December 30th, so we got awhile to wait.. This Saturday is Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Jon "Bones" Jones for the Light Heavyweight title though. Should be an awesome fight. This Jon Jones kid is the future of the sport. Extremely talented and versatile in all aspects. I'll be on the lookout for that sauce when I hit up all my local grocers this weekend. Thanks.

forget the chicken, mouthgasm @ that bread pudding!!

Don't get me wrong, that looks flawless too, but I'm just on this kick for sweet/spicy stuff. Been making a lot of dishes lately with a honey bourbon chipotle marinade. It's amazing.

Shazriki

09-22-2011, 02:32 PM

forget the chicken, mouthgasm @ that bread pudding!!

Haha thanks man. Tastes even better when my mother looks at me and says "wait you're dieting right?"

Their fight is December 30th, so we got awhile to wait.. This Saturday is Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Jon "Bones" Jones for the Light Heavyweight title though. Should be an awesome fight. This Jon Jones kid is the future of the sport. Extremely talented and versatile in all aspects. I'll be on the lookout for that sauce when I hit up all my local grocers this weekend. Thanks.

Don't get me wrong, that looks flawless too, but I'm just on this kick for sweet/spicy stuff. Been making a lot of dishes lately with a honey bourbon chipotle marinade. It's amazing.

Ah right then. I'll be on the lookout for a download of that fight next week. Heard of Rampage before, apparently he's a beast. Look forward to it! No probs on the sauce, hope you can find some.

I hear you on the sweet/spicy stuff. I've actually had a major craving for satay sauce lately, so I might look into whipping up a batch at some point. Definitely rest day food though, the amount of fat in it (coconut milk + peanuts) oh lawd :p

Shazriki

09-22-2011, 02:41 PM

22 September 2011

Today was the first time on this diet so far that I actually felt like I was dieting. At around 6.30pm I got INSANELY hungry, I could barely think about anything else, so I had to go make a sandwich. Strange, since I don't usually get hunger pangs like that. Probably a one off though, since even though I cut macros a little bit food volume is more or less the same. Still getting 1-2 pieces of fruit a day etc.

The day itself was pretty chilled, was going to go to the beach first thing in the morning but the weather wasn't that great (i.e. there were a couple of clouds in the sky instead of the usual deep blue :p) so I went in the afternoon, instead doing my usual morning cardio.

~The Workout~

Crosstrainer 400 cals burned in 36:47

~The Eats~

Huge chicken salad

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110922-P1020754.jpg

XF CR proats with chopped apple and PB&Co DCD

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110922-P1020756.jpg

Fried horse filet, baked beans, veggie stir fry

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110922-P1020763.jpg

PB&Co DCD and honey sandwich

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110922-P1020764.jpg

Macros 217P/252C/75F = 2551 cals

Shazriki

09-23-2011, 01:52 PM

23 September 2011

Another day in the books. I'm finding that following my Friday workouts I get really, really tired, most probably due to the accumulation of all the workout stress over the course of the week. It's a pretty good feeling, the sensation of getting work done. I also find myself grinning like an idiot while leaving the gym lately, I guess I'm just pretty damn satisfied completing each successive workout that gets me closer to my goals. If I ever get tired during a workout, or notice that a set was particular difficult I just think to myself "didn't the people that have reached the goals that I'm striving for now go through the same pain?" Keeps me going.

So the workout was pretty standard, added reps to my bb row but aside from that I just maintained my lifts. I might be stalling on bench press again, but if the DB bench days do their job I should be able to handle a bit more.

Looking forward to tomorrow, weather should be good so I'm going to head down to the beach and go for a long session (one of the last before I head back to uni!), and then in the evening the family and I are going to my favorite restaurant in alicante. Awesome place called "La Ereta," it's built on the side of a small mountain, sick view.

~The Workout~

Squats 262.9 x 5 x 3
*
BB Bench Press 185.9 x 6, 5, 5
*
BB row 185.9 x 7, 6, 6 Rep PR
*
Calf raises 132 x 15 + 5,5,5,5
*
Ham curl w/ slow negatives 148.5 x 10 + 3,4,3

~The Eats~

Beans on toast; bagel with Dulce de Leche-Cream cheese spread

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110923-P1020767.jpg

XF CR/ON Vanilla/PB&Co DCD sludge with cheerios, cap'n crunch PB and bananas

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110923-P1020769.jpg

Chicken stir fry with basmati rice

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110923-P1020770.jpg

Macros 216P/355C/50F = 2734 cals (guh)

brendbro

09-23-2011, 05:13 PM

"didn't the people that have reached the goals that I'm striving for now go through the same pain?" Keeps me going.

copy & pasted onto desktop :p

how'd you do that dulce delish cream cheese? looks awesome, need to give it a try!

Shazriki

09-24-2011, 10:30 AM

copy & pasted onto desktop :p

how'd you do that dulce delish cream cheese? looks awesome, need to give it a try!

Haha thanks man!

Just take equal amounts of Dulce de leche and cream cheese and mix together, tasty shiit!

vitornoob

09-24-2011, 10:33 AM

Hummm...beans <3
i love beans

what do you use for stir fry?

Trillios

09-24-2011, 11:23 AM

Everything looking good in here man! Eats and lifts look amazing. Are you trying to reach a certain body weight?

Shazriki

09-24-2011, 03:13 PM

Hummm...beans <3
i love beans

what do you use for stir fry?

Beans = too good. Never get bored of them... not yet anyway :)

Stir fry was just all the veggies you see (broccoli, red pepppers and onions) fried on high heat before adding the chicken pieces, then when everything was cooked through and the heat was still fairly high I added a mixture of soy sauce and cornstarch as a sauce.

Everything looking good in here man! Eats and lifts look amazing. Are you trying to reach a certain body weight?

Thanks bro, you're too kind, don't hold a candle to your lifts though ;) My goal weight is 180-185, whatever I can reach until christmas. Realistically though I'll go as low as I can get in the next 3 months.

Christmas vacation will be a case of "whatever the fuk whenever the fuk" and then afterwards I'll be in contest prep mode up until the summer.

What about you dude?

Trillios

09-24-2011, 05:58 PM

Thanks bro, you're too kind, don't hold a candle to your lifts though ;) My goal weight is 180-185, whatever I can reach until christmas. Realistically though I'll go as low as I can get in the next 3 months.

Christmas vacation will be a case of "whatever the fuk whenever the fuk" and then afterwards I'll be in contest prep mode up until the summer.

What about you dude?

Oh man I'm in the same boat. I want to get beach lean till the holidays then "maintain" (yea right lmao) and cut again for epic leanness in spring time. I want to be that dude with veins in calves while wearing shorts and python veins in t shirts ;)

oats_addict

09-24-2011, 08:06 PM

Christmas vacation will be a case of "whatever the fuk whenever the fuk"

x2

http://files.sharenator.com/aww_yeah_resurrection-s250x196-170627-535.png

Shazriki

09-25-2011, 01:48 AM

Oh man I'm in the same boat. I want to get beach lean till the holidays then "maintain" (yea right lmao) and cut again for epic leanness in spring time. I want to be that dude with veins in calves while wearing shorts and python veins in t shirts ;)

Yup that's basically the plan. It's especially important for me since I go to visit family in Puerto Rico every christmas. Granted, last year it was cold as hell but assuming the weather is better this year, I'll be maximizing my topless time :D

x2

[img]http://files.sharenator.com/aww_yeah_resurrection-s250x196-170627-535.png[/ig]

Lol do not want to be dieting during christmas in the UK with all the family, roasty deliciousness I know you guys serve up during xmas. Isn't it traditional to have like 3 full sit down meals on christmas day? Like one with your immediate family, one with the grand parents, and one with friends or something like that?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Little update from yesterday. Not much to report except that the restaurant we were initially going to go to was fully booked, so we decided to try something else. Great place, and food, very creative presentation etc:

Herring with a squash-cream sauce, and foie-gras "cylinder"

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110924-P1020776.jpg

Puff pastry with thin apple slices, some sort of fish and honey vinaigrette

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110924-P1020778.jpg

Battered lobster with sweet chili sauce

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110924-P1020779.jpg

Fish with a sort of hollandaise sauce

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110924-P1020781.jpg

Pork leg with apple and pepper topping and a slice of poached onion

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110924-P1020782.jpg

Apple tart with vanilla ice cream

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110924-P1020783.jpg

+ a Martini and a couple bottles of wine. Mmmm good.

Dexter3000

09-25-2011, 02:34 AM

In for a quick mirrin session. Mission accomplished. Great work Shaz, as always.

Now did I read something about contest prep starting next year? Any specific plans for this (which competition, etc.) or is it just a rough idea for now?

If I ever get tired during a workout, or notice that a set was particular difficult I just think to myself "didn't the people that have reached the goals that I'm striving for now go through the same pain?" Keeps me going.

I like this one!

Shazriki

09-25-2011, 02:07 PM

In for a quick mirrin session. Mission accomplished. Great work Shaz, as always.

Now did I read something about contest prep starting next year? Any specific plans for this (which competition, etc.) or is it just a rough idea for now?

I like this one!

Thanks my man! Hope you're feeling better after that cold bro.

Yep contest prep starting as soon as I get back from christmas vacation. Comp day is set at 22nd of July, BNBF central qualifiers in St. Albans, UK (north of London). Not sure exactly how it will go down, but I would guess that there might be enough time for a short gaining phase before going into full diet mode. Not sure though. It'll be a great chance for me to really experience a prep and focus on it too, especially since school ends at the end of May so I will basically be on my own for the months of June and July. Just me, the weights, the diet, and the competition. No hurdles. 100% dedication.

Shazriki

09-25-2011, 02:20 PM

25 September 2011

Not much to report from today. Went to the gym in the morning to polish off my 3rd cardio session of the week. In the afternoon decided to go see a movie, but made the decision to watch Fright Night, which was horrifically bad. For a scary movie it was pretty damn funny. Also got my packing done so tomorrow I can just go to the gym in the morning, and relax with the family as it's my last day here in Spain. Maybe some beach too if the weather holds up but it's been iffy lately so we'll see!

Update pics

Here are a couple of noodz my dad got of me today. Lighting is admittedly pretty favorable but I think there's definitely been some progress made. Not sure of weight atm.

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110925-_DSF0670.jpg

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110925-_DSF0677.jpg

The Workout

Crosstrainer 400 cals burned in 35:45

~The Eats~

Chicken breast, tomatoes, red peppers, pickles, XF CR proats with chopped apple and PB

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110925-P1020802-1.jpg

Deer (!), sweet potato fries, snap green beans

First time eating Deer, even better than horse. Quite sinewy though, overcook this piece of meat and you're fcked! Luckily I did not :D

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110925-P1020806.jpg

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110925-P1020808.jpg

GREAT macros too: /100g = 100 kcal, 37g pro and 2.2g fat!

Macros 226P/248C/74F = 2562 cals

vitornoob

09-25-2011, 02:25 PM

famasaur

09-25-2011, 02:34 PM

Just chimin' in, very impressive progress man.
And those pictures are awesome as well, especially that bread pudding. I just ate and you're makin' me hungry again.
BTW, where do you get the PB&Co peanut butter? PB is my crack, but I've looked everywhere and I can never seem to find it.

brendbro

09-25-2011, 05:05 PM

mirin dem legs

andyboi

09-25-2011, 06:03 PM

Yup, dem legs are GROWING! Going to be a hella strong point.

Shazriki

09-26-2011, 12:36 AM

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL, wait, those pics, you posted in MB's Facebook and i posted a comment, did not even know was you HUEAHUEHUAHEUHAE

You and your awesome meats

i can see progress man, your bf has cleary down (:

Lol yeah, I felt I needed to post a picture just to show people that they don't need to go paleo on off days just because MB said "lower carbs on off days." It's like peopled in the IF thread constructing diets around ketogenic off days... WHAT?

Deer IS an awesome meat, I recommend it if it's in season near you. And thanks, definitely feel leaner, but still a ways to go yet!

Just chimin' in, very impressive progress man.
And those pictures are awesome as well, especially that bread pudding. I just ate and you're makin' me hungry again.
BTW, where do you get the PB&Co peanut butter? PB is my crack, but I've looked everywhere and I can never seem to find it.

Thanks man, great to see a new face too! and thanks, maybe I should put a disclaimer on the log "come in here and risk leaving hungry" ;)

My father went on a business trip to San Francisco and was able to pick up a couple of jars for me. Do you live somewhere in Europe? If so your only bet is amazon I think and it's HORRENDOUSLY expensive. All that said PB&Co is good, but after a while of eating the funky flavors I find myself longing for normal PB hehe (that said I've only tried Cinnamon Raisin Swirl, which while tasty was too hard to spread (awesome in oatmeal though), and Dark Chocolate Dreams (which is basically normally PB with a hint of chocolate).

mirin dem legs

Thanks brah, they are main asset for now!

Yup, dem legs are GROWING! Going to be a hella strong point.

I hope so Andy! And yea I think I've managed to eke a little bit of extra size on them even while dieting, big win!

oats_addict

09-26-2011, 02:11 AM

Lol do not want to be dieting during christmas in the UK with all the family, roasty deliciousness I know you guys serve up during xmas. Isn't it traditional to have like 3 full sit down meals on christmas day? Like one with your immediate family, one with the grand parents, and one with friends or something like that?

Haha really? Never heard of that but its something I think should be enforced! Yeah my xmas and boxing day food choices and quantities are unexplainable. Its the two days in my house where we dont judge each other on what we eat haha.

Always wanted to try dear too.

Progress is looking good man, back is looking a lot leaner. Good stuff

raiku5

09-26-2011, 02:28 AM

Seriously not lying it looks like your staying the same weight but losing BF :eek: Mind=Blown no love handles no fat legs and no gut man your a ninja i'd say cut is going well and also you remember you've had like (i think ?) 7 days in total were you don't even count macros and just say eff it. So good job also rootin for ya!

Shazriki

09-26-2011, 02:16 PM

Haha really? Never heard of that but its something I think should be enforced! Yeah my xmas and boxing day food choices and quantities are unexplainable. Its the two days in my house where we dont judge each other on what we eat haha.

Always wanted to try dear too.

Progress is looking good man, back is looking a lot leaner. Good stuff

Oh I thought it was like that, ah well nvm. Point is, you guys get work done in the kitchen come xmas time :D Honestly though, I don't think there will ever be a time in my life where the few days around xmas, new years and january 1st aren't complete write-offs in terms of diet. Those are days to share with family and friends in the spirit of fun and togetherness. Body composition shouldn't matter one iota...

...unless it gets you laid... wut?

Seriously not lying it looks like your staying the same weight but losing BF :eek: Mind=Blown no love handles no fat legs and no gut man your a ninja i'd say cut is going well and also you remember you've had like (i think ?) 7 days in total were you don't even count macros and just say eff it. So good job also rootin for ya!

Thanks my man! I definitely do feel like I'm going to hold onto more size on this cut than on my previous one. Creatine+more carbs are definitely playing a role in hat! And yea there have been a few days where I have winged a meal or not counted altogether. Consistency and moderation is key on those days.
Glad to have you rooting dude, how's your progress been?

Shazriki

09-26-2011, 02:36 PM

26 September 2011

Well I'm pretty happy to conclude a very productive training period here in Spain with another solid workout! Energy was good, lifts went up, no pains or aches, perfect. Squats are feeling great and I'm ready for another bump in weight, added reps to my heavy day of DB benching and increased weight a good bit on lat pulldowns. Really looking forward to my wednesday workout, it's been a while since I've done conventional deadlifts, but I have high hopes that my max will be closer to 400 than 350. I'll be sure to get a vid showing the various attempts for you guys.

Will also be doing a refeed on weds, same macros as last time since my weight responded pretty favorably to the spike in carbs keeping the others macros in check. Will do more rice/ice cream and less wheat-based products just in case the blockage last time was due to gluten overload.

I might not be able to update tomorrow, as I'll be in the process of moving into my new house, which I'm not sure has been connected to the broadband network yet. But once it has... 50MBit download BABY!!! Fiber optic ftmfw

~The Workout~

Squats 262.9 x 5 x 3
*
DB Bench Press 70.4 x 7 x 3 Rep PR
*
CG Lat Pulldowns 165 x 10 + 3,3,3,3,3
*
EZ-bar Skullcrushers 72.6 x 11 x 2, 9 Rep PR
*
BB rollout 10, 7

~The Eats~

Grilled up some great tuna steaks for dinner tonight, but that pic will have to wait for another day. Until then, I leave you with...

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110926-P1020810.jpg

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110926-P1020811.jpg

Macros 209P/304C/47F + dinner was slightly winged but more or less on point for total macros today

brendbro

09-27-2011, 01:02 AM

^^^^^^^^^^ :eek:!!!!!

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:p ... btw nice WO, consistent PR's ftw. Not a big fan of skullcrushers, they always feel a bit weird and I can never quite get them right

oats_addict

09-27-2011, 01:33 AM

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Behave! They look insane!

Dexter3000

09-28-2011, 02:23 AM

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

http://catmacros.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/its_beautiful.jpg

Shazriki

09-28-2011, 07:49 AM

^^^^^^^^^^ :eek:!!!!!

:p ... btw nice WO, consistent PR's ftw. Not a big fan of skullcrushers, they always feel a bit weird and I can never quite get them right

Haha someone got excited, thanks brah!

And yea SKs can be a little awkward (can easily turn into more of a CG bench press if you aren't careful), but if you get them right the triceps explode!

Behave! They look insane!

:D

[img]http://catmacros.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/its_beautiful.jpg[/mg]

Thank you sir.

Alright ladies and gents....

I am officially now back on English soil. Yesterday I was running around to various shops buying boring things like groceries and other household items because, well, the place isn't that furnished :p

Will do a full update later with, as promised, form vids of my max deadlift attempts. I got to 385 x 1 but 399 did not budge.

ALso, I'm refeeding today. And I've found B&J's Phish Food and Chocolate Fudge Brownie in Froyo form. One of these is going down today.

Busy busy, so I'll catch up with you guys in a bit.

bigjimmy123

09-28-2011, 09:28 AM

Welcome home pal :)

oats_addict

09-28-2011, 11:46 AM

Enjoy those Freshers mate, they will be waiting with their legs spread wide.

Dam I miss Freshers week!

Shazriki

09-28-2011, 11:41 PM

Welcome home pal :)

Thanks bro!

Enjoy those Freshers mate, they will be waiting with their legs spread wide.

Dam I miss Freshers week!

Haha I hear that! I'll try and get involved fairly soon but still a fair amount to do before I can deal with going (been tired as hell the past two days, today won't be much different).

Shazriki

09-29-2011, 12:05 AM

28 September 2011

Woo, been busy as hell the last couple of days. Yesterday I went straight from the airport to my house to unpack and juggle furniture around, which took a few hours. Only then was I able to head into town to start getting the various things which make a home a home (like bedsheets lol). By the time I was able to buy some food and relax I had been fasting for like 20 hours or so, not a single fuk was given, and that’s why I love IF. By the evening I was absolutely trashed but didn’t get to sleep that easily. New bed + excited about getting into my new gym I guess.

Today I was also pretty much slammed with stuff to do from the get go. Went straight up to the uni to get my gym membership organized, and after that smashed through a pretty rough session. Nearly had a bad wreck while shoulder pressing, typical newb mistake. Pushed the bar diagonally behind my head at the top of the lift and start falling backwards. Basically the only reason I didn’t end up with a strained lower back/dropping the bar is because I was in front of a power rack and the bar caught the hooks, I got lucky. Pretty much shafted me for the rest of the exercise though. Deadlifting was pretty good, though I’m not 100% on my form. Looking at the videos it seems like I could be rounding my back ever so slightly, but at the same time, there are none of the telltale signs of crap form in my DOMS right now, everything hurts, but hurts properly.

Also did a nice big refeed today with some extra carbs to make up for the extra movement of late. Psychologically it was a pretty important refeed because since getting back to the UK I’ve been able to think of little else other than smashing cinnamon raisin bagels and B&J’s froyo. Well… I got that out of my system today. Ate a crapload of rice cakes too, love it. So no more urges right now, back to work.

Here is a picture of my new temple:

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/IMG_0365.jpg

~The Workout~

Front squats 214.5 x 5 x 3 PR
*
Standing BB OH Press 126.5 x 4 PR, 121 x 4 x2
*
Deadlifts 275 x 3, 341 x 2, 363 x 1, 385 x 1 (399 miss) All PRs
*
BB Bicep curls 71.5 x 12 + 3,3,2
*
DB Lateral raises 26.4’s x 9 + 3,3,3,2

8q-zGKKW-pY

^^Come at me, rip me to shreds. The first step towards improvement is knowing your shortcomings.

~The Eats~

Peri-peri chicken stir fry with baked beans and a bagel

...was constantly eating rice cakes with sludge while cooking :p

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110928-P1020814.jpg

XF LCP proats

'mirin my new coffee-mug shaped bowl... it's huge, that's 110g oats in there and looks like nothing!

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110928-P1020815.jpg

Pint of B&J's Chocolate Fudge Brownie Froyo

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110928-P1020817.jpg

Oh god those browniez

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110928-P1020818.jpg

The froyo flavors are awesome! Once it had a chance to soften a bit, I didn't miss the ice cream at all. The chocolate froyo base was still very good and the brownies were obviously delicious. An entire tub of B&J's for well under 1000 cals? Sign me the fuk up. Next to try are Phish Food and Cherry Garcia

Macros 219P/600C/48F

Protein a bit higher than I wanted but mynetdiary was screwing around and I was hungry :p anyway didn't go any higher than I would on a normal thing and the most important thing was to keep fat low.

Dexter3000

09-29-2011, 12:18 AM

jzpowahz

09-29-2011, 12:22 AM

I'm no expert but it looks like you are lifting your butt before the weight is coming off the ground. I try to imagine pulling back rather than up and driving the heels into the ground to make sure that the bar and butt are coming up at the same time.

Quelly

09-29-2011, 01:39 AM

your 363 pull was the best, because you didn't sit down and try to get your butt lower, you actually started in the proper position, with your shoulders over the bar and your hips loaded, your a tall guy you'll just need to understand that you're hips are going to start higher.

also, if you're gonna go for 399 next time, don't blow yourself out of the water beforehand lol, you'll probably get it!

Lastly, the head position isn't helping you, remember, keep your spine neutral, and your spine includes your neck, pack your chin (like you are looking at something you just spilled on your upper shirt. If your upper back is at a 45, your head should be too. Craning your neck can hamper power production.

Another thing that I think would help, is getting a consistent set up. Like checkpoints for getting ready. I like the following that I stole from Rippetoe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syt7A23YnpA

All that being said Moses, you actually had some good form overall, the 363 was the best.

Dexter3000

09-29-2011, 01:58 AM

Lastly, the head position isn't helping you, remember, keep your spine neutral, and your spine includes your neck, pack your chin (like you are looking at something you just spilled on your upper shirt. If your upper back is at a 45, your head should be too. Craning your neck can hamper power production.

That's interesting, I read/hear a lot saying you should keep your head up, look at the ceiling.
(this is supposed to help keep your shoulders back, and back straight)

Quelly

09-29-2011, 02:11 AM

That's interesting, I read/hear a lot saying you should keep your head up, look at the ceiling.
(this is supposed to help keep your shoulders back, and back straight)
yeah I hear a lot of people say that too, hell I used to say it :)

ian0789

09-29-2011, 02:18 AM

1st Pull was the best but after that things got a bit iffy. Quelly hit it on the head so do it up! Btw I ****ing hate you, you have Oly plates...... Trying to do Power Cleans with the hexagon style plates blows donkey balls.....

ErickStevens

09-29-2011, 04:11 AM

raiku5

09-29-2011, 05:46 AM

Didn't see your question haha FAIL...Doing pretty good! Getting faster and gaining about .4-.7 a week random right haha up to about 108(with some water but soon it will be real weight :D)

brendbro

09-29-2011, 06:11 AM

Didn't see your question haha FAIL...Doing pretty good! Getting faster and gaining about .4-.7 a week random right haha up to about 108(with some water but soon it will be real weight :D)

soz to clutter log but nice! :D

impakt1

09-29-2011, 06:41 AM

subbed bro :) look forward to food porn & improvements.

Shazriki

09-29-2011, 11:58 AM

I am not the one to critique your form (other than to say I think it looks good, although it slightly looks like you could extent the movement a little, getting up straight), but that gym looks AWESOME! is that a uni gym? sweet man!

Hope you're settled in, time for another round of results!

Dude any critique is always welcome, and if you mean I need to get up a bit more before initiating the pull, then that is pretty much exactly what Quelly said below! That is indeed my uni gym, and yea it is pretty damn awesome so now you know why I've been talking about it so much the past few months :D Bath is a very big sports university, with the flagship sport being Rugby, so the focus of the gym is very much strength training.

I'm no expert but it looks like you are lifting your butt before the weight is coming off the ground. I try to imagine pulling back rather than up and driving the heels into the ground to make sure that the bar and butt are coming up at the same time.

Yea my butt comes up simply because there is no tension in my body before my ass gets that high. I think as Eric said below I'm too tall to initiate the lift by sitting down. Just means that there is going to be a LOT of lower back in the lift for me. Thanks for chiming in!

your 363 pull was the best, because you didn't sit down and try to get your butt lower, you actually started in the proper position, with your shoulders over the bar and your hips loaded, your a tall guy you'll just need to understand that you're hips are going to start higher.

also, if you're gonna go for 399 next time, don't blow yourself out of the water beforehand lol, you'll probably get it!

Lastly, the head position isn't helping you, remember, keep your spine neutral, and your spine includes your neck, pack your chin (like you are looking at something you just spilled on your upper shirt. If your upper back is at a 45, your head should be too. Craning your neck can hamper power production.

Another thing that I think would help, is getting a consistent set up. Like checkpoints for getting ready. I like the following that I stole from Rippetoe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syt7A23YnpA

All that being said Moses, you actually had some good form overall, the 363 was the best.

Billiant stuff, thanks a bunch coach, those are all really helpful tips. The reason why I was craning my head back so much was because a guy at the gym in Spain (actually a powerlifter) mentioned that I was arching a bit and that looking up would help that. I should have looked into it a bit more but I just got it into my head that I need to snap that head back.

I will study the video before my next lifting session next week, thanks!

Happy to hear the form wasn't too off though! I won't max out for another few weeks, I want to do some higher rep sets so that I get more practice with form and then I think I'll be ready to break into the 400's (I hope).

That's interesting, I read/hear a lot saying you should keep your head up, look at the ceiling.
(this is supposed to help keep your shoulders back, and back straight)

This is exactly what I though, and it's why I was doing it. All that said though, a lot of keeping the back straight (in the squat for example) has to do with keeping the core tight, so maybe that's what I should have been focusing on.

yeah I hear a lot of people say that too, hell I used to say it :)

I guess it's sort of like people telling you not to do full squats because they're bad for the knees?

1st Pull was the best but after that things got a bit iffy. Quelly hit it on the head so do it up! Btw I ****ing hate you, you have Oly plates...... Trying to do Power Cleans with the hexagon style plates blows donkey balls.....

Yea he really did, I will take all of it to heart and improve! DUDE this gym is something else, we have everything here. Oly plates isn't even the half of it. sh!t they encourage the use of chalk and have trap bars and things like that. Best of all it's deserted at lunch time, which thanks to IF is exactly when I train :D

Eric pretty much hit all the points I wanted to hit. You gave up too early on the 399!

Thanks anyway brah! And I will be smashing the 399 soon enough, but first some practice!

Didn't see your question haha FAIL...Doing pretty good! Getting faster and gaining about .4-.7 a week random right haha up to about 108(with some water but soon it will be real weight :D)

Hehe not a prob dude, sort of thought that you missed/were talking a bb.com vacation ;) That's awesome to hear, gaining at a great rate - no doubt the strength is going up too. Keep it up!

soz to clutter log but nice! :D

No worries!

subbed bro :) look forward to food porn & improvements.

Thanks a lot dude, glad to have you following. Food pron and improvements are everything that this log is about, so you won't be disappointed ;) Btw I will get back to your PM soon, just haven't been on the boards a lot lately...

Quelly

09-29-2011, 01:04 PM

the head up thing CAN work, but often it doesn't. I mean its not like the cervical extensors actually pull your chest up, your back into extension or your shoulders back...your mid traps, rhomboids and spinal erectors do that, but looking up tends to influence that motion.
But the question should be, why does looking up tend to make your chest stick up and your shoulders go back?
Well, because we have reflexes that help us track things with our eyes, so when we look up, our spine and pelvis tends to move with our head and neck and eyes to track things. However, this also tends to kick your pelvis forward and take your hips out of the power position, and it takes tension off the back line fascia and posterior musculature as you put slack into the spinal erectors in the neck, which of course are connected all the way down the spine into the coracolumbar fascia, which then blends right into the glutes, which are the main power producers in hip extension...which is the main engine of dead lifting. So in my opinion, looking up, while it MAY influence you to keep your chest up, back straight, and shoulders back, also MAY reduce force production and shift your bodyweight via the hips and knees forward when you don't want that to happen, taking the tension out of the PC and also losing the optimal length tension relationship in the hammies.
A better way to keep your shoulders retracted, and spine in extension...is to retract your shoulders, and extend your spine ;)

Shazriki

09-29-2011, 05:39 PM

29 September 2011

Well things are finally starting to calm down a little bit as of this writing. Had another packed day today, headed out in the morning to go for an eye surgery consultation. I'm looking at getting LASEK done so I don't have to deal with glasses or contacts anymore. It all went really well and I should be under the knife by the end of october. Recovery time is pretty short (under a week) but I probably won't be able to do any kind of really heavy lifting over the course of that week. I'll probably cut all loads to 60% for that week just so I don't detrain completely (from experience if I miss even a single workout it hurts the next time around).

Just when I was settling down in the evening the guy that transported all my stuff from Spain showed up, so I now have everything. After unpacking round 2 my room is finally 100% set up, sweet! Tomorrow all I have to look forward to is a morning workout and the last couple of errands, then I can look forward to a weekend of chilling and finally catching up with some friends.

Oh yeah, didn't do any formal cardio today since I did plenty of walking. The routine will be fully re-establish next week once lectures start again.

~The Eats~

250g burger with turkey bacon and PB&Co DCD

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110929-P1020821.jpg

Chicken stir fry

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110929-P1020822.jpg

GY, PP&Co DCD, strawberries and corn cakes

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/Shazriki/20110929-P1020824.jpg

Macros 225P/253C/71F

Shazriki

09-29-2011, 05:40 PM