Josh Niemi... "The Journey" SEASON 2

[TIUjoe]

No doubt, how far are you from Peoria?

A couple hours

[Ccm644]

Season 2 has started off good

I am like you to stop taking something I go cold turkey hard at first but feels great after

[chuckles_345]

we should get some training sessions in one of these days man

x2!! This is still is something I'd really like to do at some point.

[triplewhammy]

A couple hours

Fantastic...

Season 2 has started off good

I am like you to stop taking something I go cold turkey hard at first but feels great after

Yeah I am an all-or-nothing kind of guy when it comes to that kind of thing. Another thing is that I could never "maintain" my weight for an extended period of time. I have to be going either up or down in weight towards a goal.

x2!! This is still is something I'd really like to do at some point.

Yeah for real man! Not much free time these days now that I have two kids but we need to get in a session. How long you stayin in Champaign anyway?

[triplewhammy]

Had a fantastic Back/Lats/Biceps workout tonight. My energy is slowly getting back to normal now. One thing I've noticed is that the second half of my workouts are really doing very well. Even with stims, the fatigue naturally begins to set in quite a bit during the second half of my workouts. So at this point, because my energy is essentially constant without stims, the second half of my workout feels just like it would if I would have had stims preworkout (if that makes any sense haha). I'm still working out the form on the Barbell Rows but I'm starting to like this movement. Not really sure where I should be weight-wise (or form-wise) so if anyone has any pointers for me, say something.

I took 1 scoop Ultima 3 hours preworkout and then a second scoop about 30 min preworkout. This dosing seems to be working well for me so far.

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

Barbell Rows:
135 x 10
135 x 10
155 x 10
155 x 10

Standing DB Curls:
15s x 15
20s x 10
25s x 10
30s x 8

Standing Barbell Curl:
75 x 8
90 x 8
105 x 8

8 sets various Bicep exercises
6 sets Lat Pulldown
3 sets Lat Pullover Machine
3 sets DB Shrugs
15 min Elliptical

[triplewhammy]

Great Shoulder/Tricep/Calf workout today. I'm really finding my groove now without the stims and this dosing strategy for Ultima is hittin me very nicely: 3 hours preworkout I take 1 scoop and then I take a 2nd scoop 15-30 min preworkout. I get in the zone and warmed up much better with this, not to mention my body is naturally getting my energy levels back to normal. So each workout is only getting better at this point. Worked my way up to 3pps + 25 for 9 reps on the Hammer Strength Shoulder Press machine. Put in a great amount of volume on the Tris and calves like always. I feel like my arms are starting to fill back out quite nicely, I'll take a measurement at some point here to see how my progress is. Lastly, of course, I finished up with 15 min on the Arc Trainer. Trying to stay as lean as I can without losing my mind! Today is a cheat day, so post-workout I ate 2 scoops protein, a PB&J sandwich, and a nice sized bowl of pumpkin pie ice cream. Ice cream isn't my go-to cheat, but it's been in our freezer for a bit and I'm the type that hates wasting food so I'll dig up whatever I can around the house to eat post-workout. Chef Bob, I know you're proud of this!

[The Solution]

You damn well know I am!
Pumpkin ftw

[triplewhammy]

Still pounding out the cardio: 10 min Elliptical, 5 min Bike, 10 min Treadmill (1.37 miles), 15 min Stepmill. Finished off with 6 sets of Abs. Gotta stay lean somehow!!!

[triplewhammy]

Got in to the gym for Leg Day, took care of business, and left. Really didn't enjoy the workout all that much, just hard to have intensity when you're yawning throughout the whole thing. Strength is doing ok and stamina is actually doing very well though. Comparing to last week's Heavy Leg workout, I guess it turned out pretty well. Either way, looking forward to February.

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

Machine Squat Press:
3pps x 10
4pps x 15
5pps x 15

Machine Hack Squat:
2pps x 10
3pps x 8
4pps x 6

6 sets Lying Leg Curls
3 sets Hamtractor Machine

[TheLiftLife]

Not really sure where I should be weight-wise (or form-wise) so if anyone has any pointers for me, say something.

I like doing bb rows with an underhand grip, ya it may recruit a little bicep and you may have to go a little heavier but i feel a way better squeezr thru out my back. Phil heath has a video of him explaining how this helped him somewhere on youtube

[triplewhammy]

I like doing bb rows with an underhand grip, ya it may recruit a little bicep and you may have to go a little heavier but i feel a way better squeezr thru out my back. Phil heath has a video of him explaining how this helped him somewhere on youtube

Interesting. My friend Sam Flynn also suggested that I give that a try. Maybe next Back day I will try underhand grip...thanks for the comment.

[triplewhammy]

Crushed Chest/Triceps/Calves today. Lots of volume and strength was pretty solid surprisingly.

Flat DB Press:
70s x 10
90s x 8
110s x 8
120s x 6

Incline DB Press:
70s x 8
85s x 8
100s x 7
80s x 9

10+ sets various Tricep exercises
10+ sets various Calf exercises
15 min Elliptical

[triplewhammy]

Threw down a FANTASTIC Back, Lats, Biceps, and Hamstrings day today. My wife is heading out of town tomorrow and I won't be able to work out the next couple of days so I wanted to make sure I was limping by the time I left the gym. So I added Hammies to the agenda and spent a solid 3 hours hammering away. I was going to do Hex Bar Deadlifts but I couldn't find the bar so I decided to try Straight Bar. I learned 2 things -- 1) Straight Bar Deadlifts are not like riding a bike and 2) my grip strength is TERRIBLE. I switched to over-under for the 315 set just so I could get some reps in. I haven't done these in so long that it really felt like an awkward lift and I did not enjoy it very much. When combined with the extra risk to my lower back and the shin-scraping, I don't think I will be doing these much. On the flipside, I am REALLY loving the Lat Pullover machine. Can't believe I didn't implement this exercise sooner...quickly becoming one of my favorite finishing moves! On top of all that, I did some comparisons between the two types of grip for barbell rows. I like them both actually (maybe overhand just slightly more but not by much)...overhand seems to hit my middle back better and underhand gets a better mind-muscle connection and hits upper back better for me.

Straight-Bar Deadlifts:
135 x 10
225 x 10
315 x 6 (...lol)

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

Overhand Grip Barbell Rows:
135 x 10
155 x 10
175 x 10

Underhand Grip Barbell Rows:
135 x 10
155 x 10
175 x 10

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

Standing Barbell Curl:
45 x 12
60 x 10
75 x 8
90 x 8
105 x 8
110 x 8

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

7 sets Lat Pulldown
3 sets Lat Pullover Machine
6 sets Lying Leg Curl
6 sets Hamtractor Machine
6 sets various Bicep exercises
15 min Elliptical

[triplewhammy]

Wowsa! Woke up today feeling totally beat up which is a good sign that I did some damage yesterday. Actually looking forward to taking a couple days off now, especially since I'll have some quality time with my kids. Also had a great evening with my wife yesterday as we went out to eat at Qdoba and then I took her to see comedian Brian Regan in celebration of my recent promotion at work. God continues to provide for my family that's for sure, especially now being down to one income since my wife stays home with our kids. So yesterday was a nice cheat day, today and tomorrow the diet will be on lockdown at 2600 cals. Tryin to stay tight!

Also, I am starting to look into a pair of lifting shoes. Would love to hear comments from anyone who has a pair. The Adidas seem nice but expensive. Looking into the Nike Romaleos which from what I understand fit a wider foot better anyway.

[triplewhammy]

300-rep Leg workout today. Almost lost my lunch. Gotta make these legs grow somehow though!

10 sets Leg Press Machine (15 reps/set)
10 sets Seated Leg Curl (15 reps/set)
20 min Bike

[triplewhammy]

UPDATE 1/20/2013

STATS
Weight: 177.0 lbs

TRAINING
CHEST DAY: Chest/Triceps/Calves (Primary Exercise: Flat DB Press or Flat Bench)
BACK DAY: Back/Lats/Biceps (Primary Exercise: Corner Row)
LEG DAY 1: Heavy-Weight Legs (Primary Exercise: Squats)
SHOULDER DAY: Shoulders/Arms (Primary Exercise: HS Shoulder Press)
CARDIO: Treadmill/Stepmill/Elliptical
LEG DAY 2: High-Volume Legs (Primary Exercise: Leg Press)

All lifting followed by 15-30min cardio. Legs will be hit as often as possible.

DIET
Reverse-dieting has been following this plan:
Post-Contest Week 1: 1800 cals/day
Post-Contest Week 2: 2000 cals/day
Post-Contest Week 3: 2200 cals/day
Post-Contest Week 4: 2400 cals/day
Post-Contest Week 5+: 2600 cals/day

Protein target is 180-200g per day. Calories will stay at 2600 for as long as possible.

SUPPLEMENTATION
Performance:
Omega Sports Ultima
Omega Sports Trinitine
USPlabs Compound 20
Ultimate Nutrition BCAA 12000
I-Force TT-33

Support:
Optimum Nutrition egg protein
Universal Nutrition casein
Swole whey concentrate
USPlabs Super Cissus
Multivitamin
Fish oil
Glucosamine HCL
Melatonin (only as needed from time to time)

THOUGHTS
Well overall I'm pretty happy with how things have been going. Up 3.2 pounds in 2 weeks isn't too shabby, maybe SLIGHTLY more than I'd like to have gained but really just splittin hairs at that point. Anything less than 2 pounds per week is fine by me right now. The dieting strategy has worked well for me. Basically, during the week I nail my diet at 2600 cals/day and then on the weekends I have cheat days where I don't count anything (other than making sure my protein is high) but I also don't go overboard either. I don't eat just for the sake of eating, I would say 80-90% of what I end up eating is what I always eat, just a bit more and not worrying about measuring/counting. So a lot of the menu is stuff like PB&J sandwiches, microwave popcorn, cereal, fruit, etc. It is a great mental break for me and gives me some stability of a proper diet alongside with enjoying the offseason and staying sane. Not to mention, if I stuck to 2600 cals/day every single day I would probably be losing weight or staying the same, which is not what I'm looking for. So for now I will keep rolling with this strategy until my weight plateaus and then I will kick it up a notch. At some point this offseason, instead of bumping cals I will start to back down on the post-lifting cardio. I actually kind of enjoy it, but not only does it add more time to my workout (putting me home later in the evening), but I want to make sure that when I begin dieting again in the future any cardio I do will actually be effective.

So aside from that, this will be my final week stim-free and boy am I looking forward to it. It will be nice to have some energy going into the gym and not yawn between each set. Plus I think it will give me the edge to put up a couple reps and keep the strength going. This past week I started taking I-Force TT-33 which is a stim-free thermogenic to help me get going for my workouts a little better. This has has been a benefit because it helps me get warmed up and get a good sweat going sooner in my workout especially during these cold winter days. I will continue taking it this week and then take a break from it. One of my friends is now taking a break from stims and had a big jug of Black Powder he wasn't going to use so I will be going with that to start with next week. I've noticed that it never seemed to give me much of a "kick" in the past anyway, so this will be a good product to start with and ramp up slowly with the caffeine. Just going to start with a half scoop of it, which I believe is 100mg caffeine. I will probably have some Ultima left to stack it with too, so I'm looking forward to that combination (never used Ultima with stims but I hear it's pretty good). In addition, I will also be running my classic DAA + Triazole stack as always. I have a bottle of bodybuilding.com Platinum Series Alpha Protocol that I will stack with Triazole. I definitely want to do everything I can to keep my gains lean and my strength climbing so I think this will fit the bill quite nicely at this point in time.

This week I ordered a pair of Adidas Power Lift Trainers to finally get a proper pair of shoes for lifting. I've been doing squats in a pair of Asics and it's definitely time to step my game up. Not only are they wearing out pretty bad now since I've had them for like 3 years, but I shouldn't really have been using them in the first place! From what I understand, there may be SLIGHT compression in the heel, but I don't think I'm at the point in my lifting where it is going to affect me, especially having been using running shoes to lift in. The price tag on them ($90) was much better than some other the higher-end stuff, so I will give these a go and in the future look into something better. For now, these should be fine getting me to my 495 lb squat. Excited to see how these feel. So, I feel like I am doing quite a bit here to prepare for a fantastic February and finally get the ball rolling and get into a great offseason groove where the gains start to pour in. Gonna be good, lots to look forward to come next week!








Josh

[TheLiftLife]

Ooh...you really should ramp them up better, you'll get longer use out of 'em.

Try something like this:
Jan: No stims (Reset Tolerance)
Feb: 100mg caffeine
Mar: 150mg caffeine
April: 200mg caffeine
May: 300mg caffeine
June: 100mg caffiene, 20mg DMAA
July: 200mg caffiene, 20mg DMAA (sweet spot right here)
Aug: 300mg caffeine, 20mg DMAA
Sept: 200mg caffeine, 40mg DMAA
Oct: 300mg caffeine, 40mg DMAA
Nov: 300mg caffeine, 60mg DMAA
Dec: User's Choice

Josh is this your total caffeine for the day? Including any coffee. Or just what your taking pre workout?

[triplewhammy]

Josh is this your total caffeine for the day? Including any coffee. Or just what your taking pre workout?

Well, what is listed is just preworkout. But, for example, when I start caffeine next week it will be only 100mg and it will only be preworkout. So the rest of the day and non-workout days will be 0mg caffeine. I may throw in something else from time-to-time such as Coke Zero with a meal or something. But that template is the ideal scenario, and really the only time I *should* have stims is preworkout. I shouldn't be relying on stims just for regular day-to-day things (i.e. getting out of bed LOL). So any stims you have other than what's listed would basically hinder your sensitivity and require you to ramp up the stims sooner than what is laid out there. Just a matter of preference... that layout is primarily to provide continual effectiveness for preworkout products so it is strictly in terms of preworkout stims.

[triplewhammy]

Great Shoulder/Bicep/Tricep workout yesterday. Was one of those classic days where you are heading to the gym and forget your shoes. So, I had to drive home (35 min) and work out at my local gym which wasn't a big deal just threw me off at first. Other than that, great session...worked up to Standing BB Curl 115x8 and HS Shoulder Press 4pps x 6. Really working to get that offseason strength back to my peak so then the PRs can start rolling in. I feel like the past 2 months have just been rehabbing my metabolism and getting back to normal, not really progressing any. So really it seems like February is the true start to the offseason, that's what I'm gearing up for!

[triplewhammy]

Cardio today: 10 min Elliptical, 5 min Bike, 3 miles on the Treadmill (~27 min), 6 sets Abs. Diet on lock. DOIN' WORK!

[triplewhammy]

A bit rushed for time yesterday in the gym but overall still a good session for Chest/Tris/Calves. On bench I did 135x10, 185x10, and 225x10 (+2 spot) which was fantastic to finally get 225 back in the double digits. It did throw off my Incline DB Pressing afterwards though, as I only got the 85s for 7 (plus little recovery time between sets since I was in a hurry). But definitely pleased with how it all went down, especially with poor sleep + no stims. Speaking of which, I am going to be using a half scoop of Black Powder for tomorrow's Leg Day. Friday is a good day to test my stim tolerance and not worry about it messing up my sleep for work, so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how it hits me.

[triplewhammy]

LEG DAY today and I got in my Adidas Power Lift Trainers a couple days ago so I got to break those bad boys in. I found that the shoes do tend to run a bit narrower and to be honest, when I first put them on I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep them (I have slightly wide feet). But I figured that they would loosen up and feel good after being broken in like most shoes do. Problem was I didn't want to have to wait weeks for them to feel looser. So, I shoved a tennis ball as far into the shoe as I could and let it sit for 10 min per shoe and it worked wonders. They stretched out nice and felt great. Definitely a different feeling compared to Asics, kinda weird! Basically it's like I'm lifting in bowling shoes haha, but I got used to it by the end of the workout LOL! It was weird to be able to "feel" the ground while squatting, not used to that at all, but I enjoyed it. Looking forward to working out in these shoes even more for sure.

Also, today I started back up on stims. Just went with 1 scoop Ultima + 1/2 scoop Black Powder. Black Powder has always felt pretty weak to me in terms of energy so I figured it would be a good one to start with to ease into it. Definitely did the trick, as it only gave me a "slight" boost in energy. Not enough to get me feeling tweaked out which was a good thing. So energy and strength didn't see a huge boost, but stamina definitely did. I recovered between sets much quicker. So all in all I was set up for a pretty good workout and it did turn out to be good! Was a bit short on time but happy with the results. That is the great thing about squats -- as long as you get those in, you know it's a solid workout even if you don't have time for secondary exercises.

Squats:
135 x 8
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 9
315 x 6
225 x 10

Lying Leg Curls:
65 x 15
80 x 10
95 x 10
110 x 10
125 x 10

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

15 min Elliptical

[The Solution]

Ever squat in vibrams? Eager to see how it differs.

You need some of that there c4 son!

[triplewhammy]

Ever squat in vibrams? Eager to see how it differs.

You need some of that there c4 son!

Do you wear socks with those? C4 is pretty solid, especially for pumps...didn't it use to have DMAA?

[triplewhammy]

Threw down a solid 2-hour Back/Lats/Biceps session with my buddy Matt. We went to a gym in Champaign to train together, as this will be the last time I'll get to see him until the end of the year (going overseas on a 6 month deployment starting in April).

Major lift today was the Hex Bar Deadlift. Didn't plan on doing that exercise since I hit legs yesterday but the bar was tempting me so I went with that instead of Corner Rows:
135 x 15
225 x 12
315 x 8
405 x 9
405 x 6
315 x 12

After that, just declared all-out-war on my Back, Lats, and Biceps until running out of steam. Since had to pay for a day pass I didn't waste time with post-lifting cardio but instead used it to finish obliterating my muscles. Finished by going out to eat with him, his wife, and my wife at Biaggi's. Oh yeah...today was definitely a cheat day

[triplewhammy]

UPDATE 1/26/2013








STATS
Weight: 177.4 lbs

TRAINING
CHEST DAY: Chest/Triceps/Calves (Primary Exercise: Flat DB Press or Flat Bench)
BACK DAY: Back/Lats/Biceps (Primary Exercise: Corner Row)
LEG DAY 1: Heavy-Weight Legs (Primary Exercise: Squats)
SHOULDER DAY: Shoulders/Arms (Primary Exercise: HS Shoulder Press)
CARDIO: Treadmill/Stepmill/Elliptical
LEG DAY 2: High-Volume Legs (Primary Exercise: Leg Press)

All lifting followed by 15 min cardio. Legs will be hit as often as possible.

DIET
Reverse-dieting has been following this plan:
Post-Contest Week 1: 1800 cals/day
Post-Contest Week 2: 2000 cals/day
Post-Contest Week 3: 2200 cals/day
Post-Contest Week 4: 2400 cals/day
Post-Contest Week 5+: 2600 cals/day

Protein target is 180-200g per day. Calories will stay at 2600 for as long as possible.

SUPPLEMENTATION
Performance:
MRI Black Powder
Bodybuilding.com Platinum Series Alpha Protocol
Driven Sports Triazole
Omega Sports Ultima
Omega Sports Trinitine
USPlabs Compound 20
Ultimate Nutrition BCAA 12000

Support:
Optimum Nutrition egg protein
Swole whey concentrate
USPlabs Super Cissus
Multivitamin
Fish oil
Glucosamine HCL
Melatonin (only as needed from time to time)

THOUGHTS
Smashed my weekly gain this week, only put on .4 pounds which I'm happy with since my goal has been to get back most if not all of my offseason strength by the time I hit 180. So I need to prolong that as possible while still gaining SOMETHING each week. Roughly a half pound a week gets the job done nicely. This reverse diet has definitely been treating me well since I am up almost 15 pounds since my last show but yet I'm still in the smallest waist jeans and dress pants that I own, and the notch on my Lever belt has not changed at all since I was at my lowest weight. I've certainly put on a bit of fat but overall this has been treating me incredibly well. I will stick with 2600 calories again this week and come next weekend we will see whether or not I need to bump up again. There are still many nights where I'm pretty hungry at some point in the day (sometimes at night, making it hard to sleep) which isn't any fun, but so long as I continue to gain weight there is no reason to bump up yet.

As far as supplements go, the biggest change is that the CAFFEINE IS BACK, YEAH BUDDY! Just a half scoop of Black Powder is just BARELY noticeable for me, which means that it is a great thing to start with as I ramp up. I think the combination of that with Ultima is going to work very well for me in the coming weeks as it is a nice balance of focus enhancers and stims. Having only used Black Powder for 2 workouts so far, it has already been a big help in getting me warmed up and ready for lifting regardless of the energy aspects, so I appreciate that a ton.

Also, I am running Alpha Protocol which is a DAA product and stacking with Triazole. This is going to hopefully keep the gains as lean as possible as the reverse diet continues and the calories possibly increase. Another benefit is the sleep aiding aspects of Triazole will help in case the caffeine tries to keep me up. I always have fantastic rest and recovery from Triazole (yes, most likely just the ZMA aspect) so I'm really excited for this product helping me recover from blasting my muscles as the weights increase, my legs especially.

The other thing is that I'm already REALLY diggin my Adidas Power Lift Trainer shoes. I feel noticeably more stable in my lifts which is going to be a huge for my squat and hex bar deadlift. Crazy to think how long I was using the Asics!

Looking forward to some big things happening this month, I feel like this will be the turning point as the offseason starts to get heated!



Josh

[chuckles_345]

Threw down a solid 2-hour Back/Lats/Biceps session with my buddy Matt. We went to a gym in Champaign to train together, as this will be the last time I'll get to see him until the end of the year (going overseas on a 6 month deployment starting in April).

Major lift today was the Hex Bar Deadlift. Didn't plan on doing that exercise since I hit legs yesterday but the bar was tempting me so I went with that instead of Corner Rows:
135 x 15
225 x 12
315 x 8
405 x 9
405 x 6
315 x 12

After that, just declared all-out-war on my Back, Lats, and Biceps until running out of steam. Since had to pay for a day pass I didn't waste time with post-lifting cardio but instead used it to finish obliterating my muscles. Finished by going out to eat with him, his wife, and my wife at Biaggi's. Oh yeah...today was definitely a cheat day

Sucks that we just missed eachother. I literally must have just left when you walked in. We still need to get a workout in at some point! Also, pics looks amazing! So much progress since we first me in 2006. I'm glad I was competing against you then and not now....

[triplewhammy]

Sucks that we just missed eachother. I literally must have just left when you walked in. We still need to get a workout in at some point! Also, pics looks amazing! So much progress since we first me in 2006. I'm glad I was competing against you then and not now....

You recognize those urinals in the pics don't you? LOL! Yeah I must have missed by a matter of minutes. No worries, we still thrashed the place in your honor Some big dudes there too, wow!

[triplewhammy]

Not gonna lie, 1/2 scoop of Black Powder is actually starting to treat me pretty well. Threw down a nice 1.5 hour session of supersetting Delts/Tris/Bis/Calves. Finished the evening with a bit of Bible reading and getting whooped in Candyland by a 3 year old. Great day.

Also, if anyone is wondering what a typical day's menu looks like for me, here is what I ate today:

6:30am - bowl of cereal, scoop of protein powder, egg breakfast sandwich
8:00am - BCAAs
10:00am - slice of pizza, scoop of protein powder, apple, yogurt
12:00pm - BCAAs
2:00pm - 2 packets of oatmeal, scoop of protein powder, apple
3:30pm - BCAAs (intraworkout)
5:30pm - post-workout shake (protein + carbs)
6:30pm - shredded bbq chicken sandwich, rice, green beans
9:00pm - BCAAs

[fltallpaul]

Well done Josh. Loving the variety!