Reid's Offseason Journey to become a Natural Pro

[Reid456]

Turkey burger w/ white cheddar and onion + broccoli + apple


Flounder + sweet potato fries + veggies

[The Solution]

Sweet Potato fries are one of the best things ever.
Drizzle melted cookie butter on top = Mouthgasm.

[Reid456]

Chocolate/Pumpkin pancakes w/ strawberries

[hamiltronj]

Hey Reid, Nice food pics man. How is school and life treating you?

[Reid456]

Hey Reid, Nice food pics man. How is school and life treating you?

Hey Jamie thanks for checking in! To be honest, things have been better, but at the same time I have no right to complain about anything. I'm blessed in so many ways and I can't lose sight of that. I just feel an unusually high level of stress and low level of happiness and motivation right now. It is finals week next week which usually does stress me out, but I've never been stressed to this degree before. I think its a combination of things that aren't necessarily going right. I kind of socially ostracized myself again which part of this cycle I keep going through in life, but things will turn out OK in the end. I've always felt like I haven't ever really belonged anywhere socially though I don't lack the ability to be social, just the desire usually. I didn't like my situation at my old college so I transferred schools but now I find myself in a similar though better situation. I really just want college to be over because I've never really enjoyed it that much because of all the contradictions it has introduced in my life, but at the same time, I don't know what I want to do with my career. But at least I have the gym that gets me out of bed in the morning. I've been through hard times before and I turned out okay. This is just another bump in the road.

[Shazriki]

Each year at university brings a new level of stress. Sometimes it feels like you're reaching breaking point... but you typically never do. And after each low you end up coming out of the whole experience a little stronger. Keep your head up high.

I understand the desire to be social thing, don't worry I think it ebbs and flows to be honest. Some days I feel like seeing people and going out and doing something, so I go out and do it. Then there come weeks where I just hole up and aside from the gym just keep to myself and get sh!t done. Can't be a social butterfly constantly.

[Ccm644]

Above post sums it up nicely

I hope your head stays high and you get through it fine.

Its good that the gym gets you out the bed still, when that doesn't then something would truly be up

Keep safe

[Reid456]

Asian stir fry


Banana muffins

w/ added cream cheese

[Reid456]

Just a little update on my weight and macros:

Weight:
I've been around 155.4 the past few days which is still only about 3lbs up from contest weight 6 weeks post contest. '

Macros:
As of tomorrow I will be moving up to 50F/400C/190P with 50F/450C/190P for my once a week refeed. This week I've been at 50/375/190 with pretty much no weight gain. At this rate, I'm going to be eating a lot of food when I start gaining. Once I hit my refeed numbers I will probably try and slowly bump fat up to 60g and from there increase carbs again as needed.

[Reid456]

5/3/1 M2W2 Deadlift

Deadlift
3x warmup sets
1x3x245
1x3x280
1x3omx315 - 7
5x10x175

Wide grip pullups
bw x 10, 10, 10, 10, 8

Not the best day here, but not terrible either.

5/3/1 M2W2 Bench

Bench
3x warmup sets
1x3x120
1x3x140
1x3omx155 - 8
5x10x90

Pendlay rows
130x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Hit the same weight and reps as I did in Week 3 of the first cycle. Kind of disappointed with that, but I will say mentally I kind of got distracted/lost focus during that set. Still need to be benching a lot more than this. Went up 5 pounds again on Pendlay rows and they still felt relatively easy. Finally will get to use the 45s next week on the Pendlays which will make things a little easier on the lower back.

I've been starting to get into doing more mobility work. It's always been a weakness of mine but I'm starting to see how it could really benefit me. I've started going through Mobility WOD from the beginning.

Breakfast burrito! + extras


Chuck tender steak + stir fry


Rice + peas + sweet potato + cream cheese + chicken + mustard

[The Solution]

Toss some marshmallows and Bananas on top of those sweet potatoes and candy them in the oven = Hnggg! looking good in here man.

Saw the recipe in the MEN for the muffins, how much mashed banana you use? I use around 50g of applesauce or Greek Yogurt to help with texture/moisture just curious. came out good!

[Reid456]

Toss some marshmallows and Bananas on top of those sweet potatoes and candy them in the oven = Hnggg! looking good in here man.

Saw the recipe in the MEN for the muffins, how much mashed banana you use? I use around 50g of applesauce or Greek Yogurt to help with texture/moisture just curious. came out good!

I just used a full banana for ease of use. It was about 100g I believe. I just went with a lower amount of milk to keep the consistency to how I wanted it. Mashed banana is probably the best fat replacement I've tried. It seems to work better than applesauce/yogurt/etc.

[Reid456]

Refeed bowl!
vanilla pudding + cottage cheese + FFGY + berries + banana + toasted oats + peanut butter + reeses puffs

[Shazriki]

That junk bowl makes me proud, good to see you're bumping macros finally

[Reid456]

That junk bowl makes me proud, good to see you're bumping macros finally

I've been upping carbs by 25g a week this whole time haha.

[offroadatv200]

I've been upping carbs by 25g a week this whole time haha.

How are you liking the higher carbs / lower fats?

[Reid456]

How are you liking the higher carbs / lower fats?

Well when you consider I was on 40g of fat or lower since the end of August, 50g feels pretty good. I would like to get that number up to 60-70g though eventually. Just trying to get my carbs up to a decent level first.

[offroadatv200]

Well when you consider I was on 40g of fat or lower since the end of August, 50g feels pretty good. I would like to get that number up to 60-70g though eventually. Just trying to get my carbs up to a decent level first.

Oh wow, that is a good bit lower. I usually keep my fats right at 65-70g and have been contemplating upping my carbs a bit more. My prep was a high protein / lower carb so i have been a little hesitant on upping them. I thought my 300g was alot. haha.

[Reid456]

Oh wow, that is a good bit lower. I usually keep my fats right at 65-70g and have been contemplating upping my carbs a bit more. My prep was a high protein / lower carb so i have been a little hesitant on upping them. I thought my 300g was alot. haha.

It's all just very highly variable from person to person. What may be a lot to other may be not as much to some. It's all in the process of learning about yourself.

5/3/1 M2W2 Squat

Squat
3x warmup sets
1x3x205
1x3x235
1x3omx265 - 5
5x10x145

Smith Calf Raises
2pps + 10s + 2.5s x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Had a bit of a crappy day with squats today. Only hit 265x5. I was hoping to hit 7-8 reps, but just wasn't my day. I felt a lot stronger on calf raises though, so at least I have that. I keep inching the weight on the calf raises by 5lbs each week. And at least I have this awesome bowl to end the day:

Frozen FFGY/pumpkin/vanilla pudding + pretzels + banana + raisins + cinnamon


Also had this baked banana oatmeal yesterday:

Baked banana/raisin oats w/ cookie dough ice cream



Got a 100 on my GenEd History Final today and spent all day studying and doing work for my remaining two exams on thursday. I'm going to be a happy camper after all these tests are done.

[bigryan03]

You're going to have some good days and some bad days. Main thing is you got your prescribed reps PLUS 2. Job well done bro.

[offroadatv200]

It's all just very highly variable from person to person. What may be a lot to other may be not as much to some. It's all in the process of learning about yourself.

5/3/1 M2W2 Squat

Squat
3x warmup sets
1x3x205
1x3x235
1x3omx265 - 5
5x10x145

Smith Calf Raises
2pps + 10s + 2.5s x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Had a bit of a crappy day with squats today. Only hit 265x5. I was hoping to hit 7-8 reps, but just wasn't my day. I felt a lot stronger on calf raises though, so at least I have that. I keep inching the weight on the calf raises by 5lbs each week. And at least I have this awesome bowl to end the day:

Frozen FFGY/pumpkin/vanilla pudding + pretzels + banana + raisins + cinnamon


Also had this baked banana oatmeal yesterday:

Baked banana/raisin oats w/ cookie dough ice cream



Got a 100 on my GenEd History Final today and spent all day studying and doing work for my remaining two exams on thursday. I'm going to be a happy camper after all these tests are done.

I agree. Thats what i am in the process of doing right now, especially since my taste buds enjoy the higher carbs appose to protein.

Congrats on the test man, it seems like you have alot going on yet you still stay dedicated to everything.
Good luck on the other exams!

Oh and what part of VA are you from? I live like 25 minutes from the NC/VA line.

[Reid456]

I'm from Harrisonburg, probably about 3 hours from you. My mom has family down there near Danville though.

[The Solution]

Someone is killing the food

[Reid456]

I actually got a good pump in the gym today, which I haven't felt in a long, long time. It felt great. It's taking me longer than I thought to get back to normalcy and its a lot harder than I thought it would be too. I'm trying to find my happy place. Day by day I'm feeling better, but I'm still struggling mentally with food a little bit. Two exams tomorrow and I'm DONE! Going to be a long day of studying, but I'm just going to do all I can and then whatever happens, happens. Poptarts and a shake for lunch, lol.

[Reid456]

Highly suggest everyone watch this video. It's very entertaining and had me LOLing but what's really important is the message it delivered. It was something I really needed to hear.

[Reid456]

Just a little update with where I'm at: I finished up school yesterday which was probably the most stressful week of my life. There have been numerous times over the past few days where I have been reduced to tears just because I couldn't deal with it. I've also just not been happy in general with where I am life and I'm torn on what direction I want to go. I think training for 6 months for a couple shows began to consume my life and now that it's gone it feels like there is a void in my life and socially I really suffered because I kept to myself during prep and now I'm trying to recover some social networks that I let die.

Training motivation has been pretty poor as well. Yesterday I had to force myself to go in and deadlift and I didn't do my accessory work. The past few days I have kind of stopped tracking food so closely too. I feel it became more of a burden than something I do because I want to like it used to be. I didn't go crazy with food though, if anything I probably have eaten less. This is not normal for me to feel this way, and I'm not really sure what is wrong with me, but I'm not giving up. I'm not going to let these depressive thoughts win. I think I'm going to turn my attention to my relationship with God which has admittedly taken a backseat recently, but its pretty cool because me and a few friends are starting up a Bible study for Christmas break and timing couldn't be any better. Stay posted for updates.

[Ccm644]

but I'm not giving up. I'm not going to let these depressive thoughts win. .

Sorry to hear about your update, i hope that over the break you find the path/route you want to take

Hopefully with school off your mind for a little, you can focus on becoming happier

I think that having a social life can go along way and that trying to get it back will help (im with you on this... its not easy unless you want to drink every night)

Keep your head high

Your quote above shows that you have the determination in you

[Reid456]

Sorry to hear about your update, i hope that over the break you find the path/route you want to take

Hopefully with school off your mind for a little, you can focus on becoming happier

I think that having a social life can go along way and that trying to get it back will help (im with you on this... its not easy unless you want to drink every night)

Keep your head high

Your quote above shows that you have the determination in you

Thanks, man. Yeah I think it's important to realize that we all go through tough times and although its hard to see, there's always a better time out there in the future and you can never know what the future holds. I have battled with the fear of failure a lot throughout my life, its like my personal demon. The times where I have overcome that feeling have been the best times in my life. I'm in the middle of writing down some goals on my whiteboard to keep my focus and motivation high.

I'm putting this here to remind myself how far I've come and to remind myself that I do have the power to continue to transform myself and progress:
2009:


2012:

[The Solution]

Just a little update with where I'm at: I finished up school yesterday which was probably the most stressful week of my life. There have been numerous times over the past few days where I have been reduced to tears just because I couldn't deal with it. I've also just not been happy in general with where I am life and I'm torn on what direction I want to go. I think training for 6 months for a couple shows began to consume my life and now that it's gone it feels like there is a void in my life and socially I really suffered because I kept to myself during prep and now I'm trying to recover some social networks that I let die.

Training motivation has been pretty poor as well. Yesterday I had to force myself to go in and deadlift and I didn't do my accessory work. The past few days I have kind of stopped tracking food so closely too. I feel it became more of a burden than something I do because I want to like it used to be. I didn't go crazy with food though, if anything I probably have eaten less. This is not normal for me to feel this way, and I'm not really sure what is wrong with me, but I'm not giving up. I'm not going to let these depressive thoughts win. I think I'm going to turn my attention to my relationship with God which has admittedly taken a backseat recently, but its pretty cool because me and a few friends are starting up a Bible study for Christmas break and timing couldn't be any better. Stay posted for updates.

First of all Congrats on finishing school that is NOT an easy task by any means, if anything it was probbaly good for you to focus less on your workouts and less on your food intake (given your situation and how you have said it consumed you during prep as it does for most of us that go through contest prep)

at the end of the day, you did not get fat, it did not harm you shying away from counting or your workouts but you placed what was more important first which was your overall school and getting your degree which cannot come twice in your life where as the weights and tracking can, and will alwyas be there.. Taking care of your education first and foremost was important and what needed to be done.

Finding hobbies away from food (bible study and religion) is a great way to keep your mind off food, stay away from depression, and also engage yourself in activity and be social which you are pursing. Kudos to you brother and your hard work and taking those Steps out of your "Comfort" zone to improve your life.

[Reid456]

First of all Congrats on finishing school that is NOT an easy task by any means, if anything it was probbaly good for you to focus less on your workouts and less on your food intake (given your situation and how you have said it consumed you during prep as it does for most of us that go through contest prep)

at the end of the day, you did not get fat, it did not harm you shying away from counting or your workouts but you placed what was more important first which was your overall school and getting your degree which cannot come twice in your life where as the weights and tracking can, and will alwyas be there.. Taking care of your education first and foremost was important and what needed to be done.

Finding hobbies away from food (bible study and religion) is a great way to keep your mind off food, stay away from depression, and also engage yourself in activity and be social which you are pursing. Kudos to you brother and your hard work and taking those Steps out of your "Comfort" zone to improve your life.

Ahh well I should have said completed my semester. Still 2 more semesters until I graduate.