Josh Niemi... "The Journey" SEASON 2

[triplewhammy]

INTRO
For those that missed the past two years...where you been?! Feel free to check out all the videos, workouts, and posts over the course of two years from my show in 2010 to my show in 2012: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=130493573

This is Season 2 of "The Journey" -- bigger, leaner, and stronger!

STATS
Age: 27
Height: ~5'9
Weight: 173.8 lbs

CONTEST HISTORY
2012 OCB Midwest States - 2nd Place Novice, 2nd Place Open
2010 OCB Midwest States - 2nd Place Novice, 4th Place Open
2008 OCB 45th Parallel - 7th Place Open
2006 OCB Midwest States - 5th Place Novice

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 & ABS: 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.

GOALS
Corner Row 7 plates x 15
Bench 315x8, 405x1
Arms up to 18.5''
HS Shoulder Press 4pps + 25 x 8
Squat 405x8, 495 x 1
Flat DB Press 120s x 15, 130s x 8
Hex Bar Deadlift 455x15, 585x1

DIET
Reverse-dieting after my competition 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

I am currently finishing Week 7 and still at 2600 cals/day. Protein target is 180-200g per day. Cheat meals/days typically occur on the weekends.

SUPPLEMENTATION
Performance:
Omega Sports Ultima
USPlabs Test Powder
USPlabs Compound 20
BSN Aromavex
Dymatize Elite Recoup (intraworkout)
Ultimate Nutrition BCAA 12000 (between meals)

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

THOUGHTS
Well here we go, Season 2! Just looking back at January 2011 after my 2010 show has given me some great perspective on where I'm at right now. By this time two years ago I was already 185 pounds and over 10% bodyfat whereas this time around I am ~174 and definitely under 10% bf. My reverse dieting has not been flawless but it has been much much improved. Throughout the week I do a good job of keeping my diet in check and then I use the weekends to relax a bit and get in some extra food and cravings and this has seemed to work really well for me. By February 2011, I had blown up to 195 pounds and ended up having to start dieting again which is crazy to think about! This time around I will still be cruising into my offseason with no plans to diet anytime soon. So overall, I am doing a much better job at rehabbing my metabolism and staying intentional with the diet and this is setting me up for a great offseason. Unless I am incredibly lean and/or ridiculously strong, my plan is to bulk up to no more than 200 lbs.

As far as my diet goes, I am still just tracking overall calories and overall protein. I've tried getting more precise than this but to be honest not only is it a much bigger burden, but assuming I eat a good enough variety of foods I really don't see the purpose. Some people will say to keep carbs low, some say keep fats low, some say increase saturated fat for hormone levels, etc etc. Instead I just eat as balanced as I can and take the carbs and fats as they come. I typically avoid simple sugars as much as possible and of course avoid trans fat like the plague, but other than those two things and just making sure my fiber is high, I don't keep track of it. For me this is a good balance between dedication and sanity. I also loosely follow Layne Norton's BCAA dosing protocol so I eat 4-5 meals per day spaced 4 hours apart and dose BCAAs (3-5g Leucine) in between meals. This has been working incredibly well for me the past few years and I have no plans of changing up this schedule.

Last offseason I did a pretty good job of setting and tracking goals and this time around I plan to be even more intentional about it. Last time I hit goals including Bench 225x15, 365x1, and Squat 405x6, 455x1. This time around I will be looking to improve on those numbers quite a bit. I also need to mix up my training routine as it is a pretty basic and stale routine by now so in the coming months I will switch things up better. I need to put some serious size on my legs (especially hamstrings) in order to get more competitive so it is highly doubtful that I will be stepping on stage in 2013 but instead looking more towards another appearance in 2014. I want to get in another good groove where I'm hitting back-to-back PRs every week and really build up a massive foundation for next prep.

This first month, as is pretty typical, I am taking a break from all stims including preworkouts, diet pop, and coffee. Completely stim-free. My preworkout product of choice is going to be Omega Sports Ultima to help me keep the intensity in the gym. Initially I was going to use Trinitine on Rest/Off days but I believe there is a cumulative effect to Ultima so I will be using it every day instead. Ironically, I have recently picked up a cold which is exactly what happened in Jan 2011 so I'm fighting an uphill battle in terms of energy right now.

As always, if anyone has any comments for me or questions they want to ask, jump in and contribute!

Alright, enough yapping for now.... SEASON 2... LET'S ROLL!!!



Josh

[The Solution]

No Xtend after marc gave you a 3 year supply of Quake at the arnold 2 years ago? Son i dissapoint
Just playin

In for the ride.

[triplewhammy]

No Xtend after marc gave you a 3 year supply of Quake at the arnold 2 years ago? Son i dissapoint
Just playin

In for the ride.

Would love to, just cost prohibitive at the moment. That Quake supply is long gone! Glad you're on board. How you like that 220lb footage?

[coolguydsc21]

So in for season two man! Let's get this train a'rolling!!

[TIUjoe]

very excited for this man! Awesome series you have going on here!

[Frankdaddy]

Yes sir I am IN!!! Glad the offseason has started quick for you, even though at times it did not feel like it

[triplewhammy]

So in for season two man! Let's get this train a'rolling!!

All aboard, next stop Beastville!

very excited for this man! Awesome series you have going on here!

Glad you're in! Last season has 16-ish videos for you to check out to if you're interested. Let me know when you're planning on competing next so I can make sure to be sick that day

Yes sir I am IN!!! Glad the offseason has started quick for you, even though at times it did not feel like it

No doubt! Not gonna lie though, 2600 cals/day has me still RIGHT on the edge. It seems to be the magic number where I can tell my body wants more food yet at the same time I'm finally not starving anymore hahaha...

[TIUjoe]

hahaha! Man you looked great out there. 3 more lbs and who knows what may have happened! How long are you planning to be in your off season?

[triplewhammy]

hahaha! Man you looked great out there. 3 more lbs and who knows what may have happened! How long are you planning to be in your off season?

Probably won't step on stage again til 2014...

[TIUjoe]

Probably won't step on stage again til 2014...

same here man, or at least that's the plan. Not sure what shows I'll be doing but it won't be one and done like this past year. I'll probably have 3 shows lined up

[triplewhammy]

same here man, or at least that's the plan. Not sure what shows I'll be doing but it won't be one and done like this past year. I'll probably have 3 shows lined up

Yeah I've never done multiples...not sure if I'd want to, who knows...

[triplewhammy]

Had a great Shoulders/Biceps/Triceps workout yesterday. Legs are still incredibly sore from the high volume session I did a few days ago so I wasn't about to hit my hammies. I'm going to train legs again tomorrow anyway so I figured I'd get 'em fresh for that workout. Highlights were HS Shoulder Press 3pps x 12 and Standing DB Curls 50s x 8. My body is starting to get used to the lack of caffeine now which is definitely helping out, plus I'm getting over my cold. What I've noticed is that at the start of the work I can definitely tell that I don't have any extra energy, but by about midway through the workout I start to feel like I would had I taken stims. I think the reason is that I naturally get pretty fatigued by about midway in my workout so feeling the fatigue set in is about the same whether I have stims or not. The only other thing I miss about not having stimulants is the thermogenic aspect, especially during the cold winter months. Makes it much harder to get warmed up and loose.

Today is going to be an off day. Still feeling tired and a bit beat up so I'm just playing Geo Trax with my son, watching a little NFL playoffs, reading my Bible, and relaxing. I should probably spend more Sundays like this anyway

[triplewhammy]

Bittersweet Leg day today. Squat strength was disappointing but overall workload was fantastic. Not gonna lie, wasn't looking forward to this workout going into it but still put in the necessary work. Still getting my bearings without the stims. There were some days during prep I was around 500-600mg caffiene + 50-70mgs DMAA so going cold turkey is how I like to do it, but definitely takes a minute to get back to feeling "normal."

Squats:
135 x 8
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
315 x 7

Hack Squat Machine:
1p x 10
2p x 10
3p x 8
4p x 6
4p x 8

5 sets Lying Leg Curls
5 sets Hamtractor Machine
3 sets Seated Leg Extensions

[drew419]

Do you get caffeine related headaches the first week or so?

[triplewhammy]

Do you get caffeine related headaches the first week or so?

Surprisingly, no. I don't ever get headaches unless I'm sick. I could count the number of Tylenol or ibuprofen on one hand that I take in a year. I like to go cold turkey because either way I'm going to feel terrible energy so I figure why draw it out. The sooner I get completely off them, the sooner I can get back on

[fltallpaul]

You know I'm in.

Mirin!

[triplewhammy]

You know I'm in.

Mirin!

Mirin me at 220 lbs?

[TIUjoe]

fulked up to 215 once...wasn't a pretty sight

[The Solution]

Mirin me at 220 lbs?

Look Skinny brah

[triplewhammy]

fulked up to 215 once...wasn't a pretty sight

There are some skinnier types that probably should try to dirty bulk every now and then just to put on a good foundation of strength and size.

Look Skinny brah

So you're sayin I should go for 230 this time around?

[triplewhammy]

Overall very happy with today's Chest/Triceps/Calves workout. I took 1 scoop Ultima midday and then another scoop around 3:00 (preworkout). I talked to Matt Palada of Omega and he said 2 scoops preworkout is sometimes too much for some people and may actually have a drowsy type effect.

Bench:
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 9

Incline DB Press:
70s x 8
85s x 8
100s x 6

Plenty of additional sets for Triceps and Calves and finished with 15 min on the Elliptical.

[coolguydsc21]

Within the second month on a preworkout, especially taking in 2-3 scoops, i'll crash hard. Thats usually a a good sign when I start weening myself off.

[triplewhammy]

Within the second month on a preworkout, especially taking in 2-3 scoops, i'll crash hard. Thats usually a a good sign when I start weening myself off.

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

[triplewhammy]

Cardio yesterday: 10 min Elliptical, 5 min Bike, 10 min Treadmill (1.34 miles), 10 min Elliptical, 5 min Bike. Followed by 6 sets Abs. This is definitely new for me to be doing so much cardio during the offseason, not to mention direct ab training!

High Volume Leg workout today: 10 sets Leg Press, 10 sets Seated Leg Curl. 15 reps/set, 300 reps total. Followed by 15 min on the Arc Trainer. Ya buddy FEEL THE BURN!

[chuckles_345]

I'm in! Looking forward to following season 2 and watching you improve.

[The Solution]

Really like to see the consistency in here brother.

[triplewhammy]

I'm in! Looking forward to following season 2 and watching you improve.

..and improve we MUST if we are ever to win a Novice class!

Really like to see the consistency in here brother.

Didn't think I'd make it this long hittin the post-lifting cardio but here we are still grindin haha

[mikhaill]

Good Luck. Looking great!

[TIUjoe]

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

[triplewhammy]

Good Luck. Looking great!

Thanks! This second season is gonna get nasty!

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

No doubt, how far are you from Peoria?