Reid's Offseason Journey to become a Natural Pro

[Reid456]

That is because most products such as pre-workouts or intra-workouts are under dosed for some ingredients therefore making them not worth your time (Such as CM, BA, Betaine, GMS, Glycerol, Agmatine) etc to reap the full benefits and will need to supplement more on the side in bulk.

Unfortunately the "full benefits" aren't worth my time or money.

[deltpecx]

You ever get the phrase "You get what you pay for"
That applies to mostly everything in life
You can always pay a few bucks for low grade stuff, but is it worth it in the end?
protein is produced in NSF Facilities those who are inspected by the FDA
to make sure they are complete and also true to their label they need 3rd party vendors to test their products because the FDA will allow false labels if they make sure the company states what they use on the product (even if it includes fillers like MT phase 8, and various other brands out there) but they do not test the label or run it through a QC process to test to the exact details)

just like how in BCAA products they label them calorie free yet BCAA's do contain calories. The FDA does not account for all the small details.

I know the saying but it isn't always true.

Just because something costs more to buy doesn't always mean it is better.

You will learn this over time...

[The Solution]

I know the saying but it isn't always true.

Just because something costs more to buy doesn't always mean it is better.

You will learn this over time...

I am quite clear about that since i am a penny pincher, but when you are making a product (protein powder) and somehow it sells cheaper than the raw materials. Red Flags start to rise.

[deltpecx]

I am quite clear about that since i am a penny pincher, but when you are making a product (protein powder) and somehow it sells cheaper than the raw materials. Red Flags start to rise.

I wouldn't know about the cost of the raw materials.

[Reid456]

I am quite clear about that since i am a penny pincher, but when you are making a product (protein powder) and somehow it sells cheaper than the raw materials. Red Flags start to rise.

I think you explained this idea quite perfectly earlier. Many companies are selling below market price and making their profit on another line of products. I can think way back to when the Xbox 360 came out, Microsoft was losing tons of money selling at $400 a console, but was banking on the fact that people would buy a lot of games. I'm sure there's some business term that fits this description.

edit: ahh it's called a "loss leader"

[deltpecx]

I think you explained this idea quite perfectly earlier. Many companies are selling below market price and making their profit on another line of products. I can think way back to when the Xbox 360 came out, Microsoft was losing tons of money selling at $400 a console, but was banking on the fact that people would buy a lot of games. I'm sure there's some business term that fits this description.

edit: ahh it's called a "loss leader"

I believe you got it!

Retails stores do this too.

When I buy jeans I buy the $20 or less ones.
I'm not forking out $50+ for a pair of dungarees

[Reid456]

I loved lifting today. I don't know why, it was just an awesome session. No matter how I did today it was going to be fun. And these are the days I reminded why I do this.

9/16/2014 - DUP

Front squat
215x5
215x5
215x5

DB flat
75sx10
75sx10
75sx10

Deadlifts
255x15
255x12

Haha too easy.

Pendlay rows
155x10
155x10
155x10

calf raises
295x12
295x12
295x12

I'm really liking this full body thing. I'm doing movements so often that I'm really developing some better familiarity with them and everything just feels more natural as I'm doing movements 3x-4x per week. So far my body seems to be handling things well, but the loads aren't quite up there yet. I'm letting my body equilibrate with the increased frequency a bit more before going up in weights.

[Reid456]

I'm considering a 2015 competitive season. I'm starting to get the itch again. It took me quite some time to get back into the groove, but I think I can bring a considerably improved physique next time I compete. It all depends on how I'm doing in grad school though.

[Reid456]

Feeling stronger on almost every movement this past week. Today 3 sets of 8 with 315 on deadlifts was legitimately easy. Bar speeds even on the last rep were incredible. I'll update a little more rigorously when I get the chance. Been quite busy with grad school.

[Reid456]

I'll probably be doing a proper update later tonight.

A realization I've had recently is that I really just love training itself. There was a period of time where I kind of lost that because I thought that my training needed to be strictly goal-oriented and numbers based. I forgot why I even started lifting in the first place. But I remember now why I love lifting weights. I just love getting into my little world with my music and the weights. And nothing else matters.

[The Solution]

. I just love getting into my little world with my music and the weights. And nothing else matters.

Looks like you and I are brothers when it comes to this statement.
Second my Ipod goes on, it is go time. Even if it is 5 AM in the morning. Just puts me in a different mood and i space out everything else.
A lot of people always ask why I never talk to anyone when i train and am always quick with my training.

Then you see people who are there 2+ hours and only do about 10-12 sets because they talk for 10 minutes between some sets .. haha

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Looks like you and I are brothers when it comes to this statement.
Second my Ipod goes on, it is go time. Even if it is 5 AM in the morning. Just puts me in a different mood and i space out everything else.
A lot of people always ask why I never talk to anyone when i train and am always quick with my training.

Then you see people who are there 2+ hours and only do about 10-12 sets because they talk for 10 minutes between some sets .. haha

yup

[Reid456]

Looks like you and I are brothers when it comes to this statement.
Second my Ipod goes on, it is go time. Even if it is 5 AM in the morning. Just puts me in a different mood and i space out everything else.
A lot of people always ask why I never talk to anyone when i train and am always quick with my training.

Then you see people who are there 2+ hours and only do about 10-12 sets because they talk for 10 minutes between some sets .. haha

Yup, it's that switch. Usually even if I'm dreading going to the gym, if I actually make it there, I'm ready to hit it hard.

But it's weird, I went through a long period of time of not having music and I actually enjoyed that too. If I had my way, I would enjoy a morning training session with complete silence except for the weights. Music just functions to keep out distractions and keep energy levels up.

[MikeWines]

Yup, it's that switch. Usually even if I'm dreading going to the gym, if I actually make it there, I'm ready to hit it hard.

But it's weird, I went through a long period of time of not having music and I actually enjoyed that too. If I had my way, I would enjoy a morning training session with complete silence except for the weights. Music just functions to keep out distractions and keep energy levels up.

^I agree. I've done both and enjoy them each in their own right.

I have somewhat of a "mix" now in that I can choose what music is playing but I still lift without headphones. It's nice b/c I can still listen to what I like but also talk to other guys during our lifts.

[Philip81193]

In on this thread. You still go to JMU or are you in grad school now? I'm a senior a couple hours away at UMW

[Reid456]

In on this thread. You still go to JMU or are you in grad school now? I'm a senior a couple hours away at UMW

Nah, I'm down in Nashville, TN now for grad school. However, my sister is at UMW right now and one of my really close friends graduated there a couple years back. Almost went there myself when I was applying to schools.

Thanks for following, life has been a bit busy recently so I haven't been updating as often as I used to. I'm really loving training right now though. I'll check our your log.

[Reid456]

I must admit, I've kind of fallen off recently the last couple weeks. Didn't lift last week and ate like crap. I don't want to delve into this very deep, but I've just been dealing with some personal demons and just trying to work out what I want out of life and who I want to be. I feel pretty alone, and it's a scary time for me, but I'm trying to do the best I can. It's all part of the journey. Stay tuned.

[The Solution]

Keep that mind focused, Do what you gotta do my man. You will rebound. We are here to support and you know damn well anyone of your followers is here if you have anything to talk about or expose so that you can vent and fix the problem. Stay strong and focused.

[MikeWines]

PM box is always open big man...

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Shoot, that's not what you wanna hear. Whatever's going on, I'll keep you in my prayers man. Sometimes life is just so confusing and sometimes we're seriously tested. Like Bob said, you've obviously got a huge support group here who want to see you succeed. Keep on keeping on

[Reid456]

Yeah nothing bad has happened or anything really. It's just that moving to a new state to start a new part of life has me a bit shaken up still.

[deltpecx]

I must admit, I've kind of fallen off recently the last couple weeks. Didn't lift last week and ate like crap. I don't want to delve into this very deep, but I've just been dealing with some personal demons and just trying to work out what I want out of life and who I want to be. I feel pretty alone, and it's a scary time for me, but I'm trying to do the best I can. It's all part of the journey. Stay tuned.

You are never alone!

"Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'"(NASB)

Isaiah 41:10

God brought you to where you are...for a reason.
Nothing surprises Him.

Remember you sig.

[Nep2une]

These tough times come & make that Philppians 4:13 burn brighter !!! You got this Brotha & nothing is going to stop you. Alot of people including myself are backing you up in prayer. Dust off your plan & take it one meal, one workout, one hour at a time ! Youtube Andy Mineo "You can`t stop me" ( Good workout song !)

[Philip81193]

I could've sworn I subbed to this log. BB.com acting up again. Anways, back in.

[Reid456]

I could've sworn I subbed to this log. BB.com acting up again. Anways, back in.

No problem, dude. Hasn't really been much going on here though. I don't know, I just haven't felt like logging like I did in the past. I've basically been front squatting, DB pressing, deadlifting, rowing, and doing pullups. A lot. High frequency.

[Reid456]

Sorry I haven't been logging. I just don't really the feel need in current times.

Some recent highlights include 335 for 3 sets of 8 on deadlift, 100s for 3 sets of 7 on flat DB bench. Those two lifts are the ones I've been the most focused on. My strength hasn't really progressed that much, but my frequency of my lifts has gone up dramatically so I'm really happy that I'm able to hit similar numbers but doing more overall sets per week. I'm just really hammering in the volume on all the main lifts. A little bit less emphasis on my squats because my quads are already quite large for the rest of my body. Still front squatting around 225 for sets of 5.

Life outside the gym is going really well. I just joined a structural biology lab at my school that I will be in for the next 4-5 years to get my PhD and I'm doing well in my classes. It just feels right and I really look forward to coming in to work each day. That's it for now. I don't think I'm done with bodybuilding, I'm just a dormant volcano right now. I can't really afford to sacrifice mental energy right now to diet for a show and I'm not sure when I'll be in a place in life to do so. But the bottom line is that I still really love lifting, and still force myself to go in on the days that I don't really want to. That's all that ultimately matters. If it manifests itself in another show that's great, if I never compete again I think that's OK too, but that pro card is still a goal.

[anthonykim421]

Hey man who does your programming and your prep for the stage?

[Reid456]

Hey man who does your programming and your prep for the stage?

I did my prep back in 2012 through 3DMJ with Brad Loomis. It was a great experience and I still am part of the "3DMJ family" and interact with them all the time. My training programming was mostly still dictated by me.

I see you have Cliff doing your stuff? I've heard nothing but overwhelmingly positive things about Cliff. One of the best and most successful coaches in the business.

[anthonykim421]

That's what's up! I'm a big fan of 3DMJ and what they've done to help promote natural bodybuilding. Yeah, Cliff is helping me with both my prep and my programming. He's a great teacher and definitely helps me with a lot with my own process of becoming a great coach. And he definitely always has absolutely shredded guys on stage so I can't wait for what's in store.

[Reid456]

I don't know if anyone still follows this, but anyway here's an update:

I don't know what happened, but I just kind of stopped lifting. I moved to a new city for graduate school and things kind of got bad. I started getting really depressed and at my lowest I was having panic attacks. I decided recently to just go for a masters degree instead of a PhD like I had planned on. It feels good to have made that decision but I'm still kind of hating life right now. I don't think I'm done with the gym yet in my life, I know I will get back to it, but right now I'm pretty messed up. I don't even know what I'm doing after graduate school and that's in about 6 months. I'm just not even the same person anymore and I have no idea what happened. I loved the person I was. I hate the person I've become and frankly I just feel lost. Thanks for reading.