The never ending journey to hang with the big dawgz - I call it Operation Upper.

[bigryan03]

Kind of dropped off logging towards the end of my contest prep (I know, i'm a horrible person), but I am going to try be a little more active on the forums again.

A quick intro about me for those of you who don't know me, my name is Ryan Anthony, I like long walks on the beach...lol. Ok, i'm 19 right now and just finished my last season as a teenager. I'm studying my BSc nutrition (kind of modified the course to include more exercise physiology subjects, which i'm surprised got approved by the dean), I will be embarking on a LONG offseason since the next time I compete will be in the open division, i'm a contest prep/offseason coach with Natural Physique Sciences, and i'm Australian.

A little bit about my contest season...

- I prepped for 41 weeks in total and achieved my goal of striated glutes.
- I placed top 3 in all the shows I did (2nd, 3rd, 2nd).
- I maintained my school grades at a high level and still managed to grow my business at the same time.
- Met some epic, like-minded people who have become some of my closest friends now.
- Currently reversing and if I don't say so myself I am owning it!

Bodyweight is sitting ~1-2lbs above stage weight on any given day and i'm up by 100g carbs, 20g fat, 20g protein and my cardio is almost all gone (doing 1 x 30 min LISS session).

Goals for this offseason is to bring my upper body up. I’m sick of hearing that I was straight 1’s from the waist down. It’s time to rectify my less than stellar upper body and who knows, I might even win shows because of it.

Gameplan going forward is to dedicate a good portion of my volume to my upper body, whilst training my strengths (back and legs) at maintenance with lowered volume. Frequency will be quite high for my pressing and arm work (3-4x per week) and I will be making use of various rep ranges to prevent me snapping sh*t up lol.
I have just finished my first 3 week training block and I have been amazed with how well it went. It really does feel like making noob gains all over again. I’ve added weight to the bar and reps to just about every set across the board.
I’m finishing writing up my next 3 week block which I am REALLY excited for and will implement it after a modified deload.
Macros right now sit at 40/270/250, with a high day every 5th day of 30/350/250. These will likely change quite a bit over the coming weeks though.

Finally, I will be posting here as frequent as possible and if you guys have any questions as to what/why I’m doing something or any questions in general feel free to ask here or email me at ranthony.nps@gmail.com

And. Here. We. Go!

[bigryan03]

Upper hypertrophy D2

23/06/2013

Weight
71.4kg (157lbs)

Macros
40/275/250

Cardio
None

Training
Upper hyper day 2:
(all weight in kgs)

Seated db press:
22.5s x 8, 8, 8


One arm row:
32.5s x 8, 8


HS flat bench:
22.5ps x 12, 10, 10


Underhand HS pull downs:
25ps x 12, 11 (single arm)


Rope pushdown:
17.5 x 12, 12, 12, 12


Hammer curls:
15s x 11, 11, 10

Occluded push-ups - 1 round.

Face pulls - 3 sets x 15


Notes
Weight kinda freaked me out but it makes sense considering today is the day after my refeed and I have about half my macros right before bed. Scale should be back down to something more reasonable tomorrow.
I wrote my last uni exam last night (Saturday night exams suck) and it feels weird not having uni stuff to do so i'll be occupying my time with writing some more articles because that really slacked during exams.
Workouts have been freaking phenomenal lately. Performance, endurance, mood, it's all coming back at a ridiculous rate! The pumps are unreal too

[boxteross]

Subbed! This will be one to watch for sure. I learnt a lot from you during your prep which im sure will continue to be the case.

Congrats on the reverse so far mate, how is your body comp compared to stage condition? Has your composition been pretty consistent with how the scale reads? Any recent pics

[jpfaherty]

You better not tease me! Keep this thing going!

In!

[bigryan03]

Upper Power

25/06/2013

Weight
72.0kg (158.7lbs) <--- Brad is actually happy that my weight is up so i'm cool with this.

Macros
45/250/250

Cardio
None

Training
Upper Power
(all weight in kgs)

Flat db bench:
32.5 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Pendlay rows:
67.5 x 5, 5, 5

Seated db press:
25 x 5, 5, 5, 5

Neutral grip pull down - 2 sets x 4-6 reps:
75 x 5, 5

Db skull crushers:
12.5 x 8, 8, 8, 8

BB curls:
30 x 8, 8, 8, 8


Notes
Freaking epic workout! I'm getting my mojo back!!! The week after my show I tried to db bench the 32.5's and got 2 grindy reps for 1 set, today I hit them for 3 reps across all 5 sets AND it was at an RPE around 9. Endurance has come back big time too.

Pretty sad day today in that it was the last time I will be reporting to Brad. It has really been one of the best experiences of my life and I view Brad as more of a father figure/mentor so it's been a privilege to be under his guidance for so long. He has taught me an unreal amount.
I will still be continuing on with this reverse diet as planned and no doubt will have an epic offseason as I did last offseason

Oh and new article is up! https://www.********.com/notes/natur...85472644931408
We're in the final stages of getting the NPS website live and cannot wait for that to drop. Tonnes of cool stuff in there!

Subbed! This will be one to watch for sure. I learnt a lot from you during your prep which im sure will continue to be the case.

Congrats on the reverse so far mate, how is your body comp compared to stage condition? Has your composition been pretty consistent with how the scale reads? Any recent pics

Wow dude I didn't think anything I post is really that informative. Thanks for that, makes me feel good

Hmm tbh conditioning for the first 2 weeks seemed to get better, however I can definitely tell now that i'm getting softer in certain areas, which i'm cool with. From the side I still have faint glute striations, abs are still there and so are my spinal erectors. I definitely need to get some recent pics happening. I haven't taken many since comp but here's one from a little over 2 weeks ago.

You better not tease me! Keep this thing going!

In!

Hehe I will be on here a lot more frequently, don't you worry

[Ccm644]

- I prepped for 41 weeks in total and achieved my goal of striated glutes.
- I placed top 3 in all the shows I did (2nd, 3rd, 2nd).
- I maintained my school grades at a high level and still managed to grow my business at the same time.

41 weeks wow, well done

You achieved your goal that is great however long it takes

School and business sounds good

Will be following your reverse and offseason

[bigryan03]

Lower Power

26/06/2013

Weight
70.9kg (156.3lbs) <--- Much better

Macros
35-45/270-290/240-250 (F/C/P)

Cardio
Probably none, unless I take the dog for a walk later.

Training
Lower Power
(all weight in kgs)

Deadlifts:
160 (353lbs) x 4, 4, 4

Hack squat:
35ps x 5, 5, 5

Calf press:
87.5 x 6, 5, 6, 5, 6

Weighted abs:
38.5 x 8, 8, 8, 8


Notes
Another unreal workout in the books. Strength gains are straight up nuts right now and i'm going to milk it for as long as I can. Recovery has improved enormously and even though i'm hitting my upper body 3-4x per week I haven't been sore for the last week (not that soreness = recovery, though).
Going to be working through macro ranges from here on in of 35-45/270-290/240-250 (F/C/P)

Here's a Vlog/vid of todays deads. I go into my training and macros a bit, as well as some random stuff involving my life/business.

41 weeks wow, well done

You achieved your goal that is great however long it takes

School and business sounds good

Will be following your reverse and offseason

Thanks dude! I really appreciate the kind words

[IronMule]

I'm back!! In on this journey my dude! I'm hoping to be a little more active on dis here forum board as I fell off the bat for a while due to life priorities, etc. Couldn't be more proud of following your journey via the 3DMJ HQ page

[bigryan03]

Chest/Shoulder hypertrophy

27/06/2013

Weight
70.9kg (156.3lbs) <--- Noice!!!

Macros
35-40/340-360/250 (F/C/P)

Cardio
None

Training

Chest/shoulder hypertrophy
(all weight in kgs)

Incline db press:
25's x 9, 9, 9, 9 <--- Set PR

Pec deck:
40 x 10,
30 x 15, 15

Machine shoulder press:
40 x 9, 8, 9

Side Laterals:
12.5s x 12, 12, 12

Machine chest press (myoreps)
45 x 12, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Face pulls:
3 x 15

Serratus anterior work.


Notes
Another freaking boss workout. Weights, reps and sets were up across the board. First day of my new training block, and tomorrow I have an arm day lol. I haven't had an isolated arm day in about 2 years. Dis gon be gud.
Pretty happy with what my weight is doing too. Currently around 2-3lbs over stage weight and i'm going to milk the performance gains at this weight and cruise here for another few days before I throw more food at me.

I'm back!! In on this journey my dude! I'm hoping to be a little more active on dis here forum board as I fell off the bat for a while due to life priorities, etc. Couldn't be more proud of following your journey via the 3DMJ HQ page

OHHHHHH SHIIIEEEEEEETTTTT!!!! Step the F back, Big D in da house! My log just got a bunch better.
Lol don't worry man I dropped off pretty badly too. We're both back now though! Dude it was an honor having guys like yourself show an interest and it helped more than you probably know.

[fltallpaul]

Good to see your journal here...looking forward to the progress that's about to happen!

[bigryan03]

Arms

28/06/2013

Weight
70.9kg (156.3lbs) <--- third day in a row and yesterday was a refeed too!

Macros
35-40/340-360/250 (F/C/P)

Cardio
None

Training
Arm day (srs)
(all weight in kgs):

Db decline skull crushers - 4 x 8-10:
10's x 10, 10, 10, 10

Tricep pushdown - 4 x 10-15:
20 x 15,
22.5 x 12, 14, 15

Occluded rope pushdown - 1 cluster of 30, 15, 15, 15

Db curls - 4 x 8-10:
12.5 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Db hammer curls - 4 x 10-15:
12.5 x 12, 12,
10 x 15, 15

Occluded preacher curls - 1 cluster of 30, 15, 15, 15


Notes
Lol, yes I just had an arm workout. I can't remember when last i've had an isolated arm day. The pump was flippin' nuts! Some potassium nitrate and a whack of sodium has my arms looking scary

Pretty surprised at what my weight is doing actually. It seems to be backsliding, even the day after my refeed. I'm going to hold here for a little bit, however if I see a 70.4kg or lower weigh in within the next 2-3 days then i'll bring cals up a bit.

Good to see your journal here...looking forward to the progress that's about to happen!

Thanks a lot for following along, Paul! You were a huge inspiration to me during my last prep. Great to have you here.

[jpfaherty]

Dat sexy V-log accent. (no homer)

[bigryan03]

Sheiko #40 D1W1

2/07/2013

Weight
Didn't weigh because I chugged water when I woke up due to being so thirsty.

Macros
45-55/270-290/240-250 (F/C/P)

Cardio
None

Training
Sheiko #40 D1W1
(all weight in kgs)

Bench:
40 x 5,
48 x 4, 4
56 x 3, 3
64 x 3, 3
68 x 2, 2, 2
64 x 3, 3

Squat:
78 x 5,
93 x 4,
109 x 3, 3
124 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Bench:
44 x 5,
52 x 5,
60 x 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Db flyes supersetted with leg press:
3 sets by 12 reps (flies) w/6 reps on leg press


Notes
Sorry for the lack of updates over the last couple of days, work has been ridiculously busy. So as you can see i'm running sheiko. Reason being that I will be doing another powerlifting meet next month and i've worked something together with my friend, Joey which we're going to use as an experiment. Macros will be brought up tomorrow provided the scale is happy with me.

[bigryan03]

Dat sexy V-log accent. (no homer)

Hahaha I wish I still kept my South African accent. Now THAT is a badass accent

[fltallpaul]

Just checkin in with the Aussie crew....

[Ccm644]

Sheiko #40 D1W1

Nice, starting Skeiko

Going to see some big numbers and long workouts

[bigryan03]

Just checkin in with the Aussie crew....

Thanks for checking in! We were actually talking about you at the last team meeting. Joey and Courtney couldn't get over how welcoming and hospitable you were.

Nice, starting Skeiko

Going to see some big numbers and long workouts

Ohhh yeaaa! That workout took me 2 hours and I ended up supersetting the accessory work lol. I've wanted to run #40 for ages and now I finally get the chance to

[jpfaherty]

I think Sheiko is a great program to run coming out of a contest prep! Good choice and excited to see what you discovering running it

[bigryan03]

Upper hyper 1

17/07/2013

Weight
Didnt weigh.

Macros
55/350/220 (f/c/p/)

Cardio
None

Training

Upper hypertrophy workout 1
(all weight in kgs - copied directly from evernote):

Incline db bench - 5 sets x 8-10 reps:
(goal this week = 25's x 9 x 5 sets)

25 x 9, 9, 9, 9, 10 @ 10

Pec deck (seat on 3) - 4 sets x 10-15 reps
(goal this week = 30 x 13 x 4)

(1-1.5 mins rest)
30 x 13, 13, 13, 13

Machine shoulder press - seat on 7 - 8-10 reps x 4 sets:
(goal this week = 40 x 9 x 4)

40 x 9, 9, 9, 9

Side laterals -4 sets x 12-15 reps:
(goal this week = 10s x 12 x 4)

10 x 12, 12, 12, 12

Decline skull crushers - 4 sets x 8-10 reps:
(goal this week is 10s x 9 x 4 sets)

10s x 10, 9, 9, 9

Occluded rope pushdowns - 1 cluster:


Notes
Sorry for the lack of updates guys. This past week has been insane. So much going on and it has been a blast. Finally got new merchandise printed for Natural Physique Sciences (see pic below). The fit of these shirts are amazing and it's taken a while to find a fit we were happy with. We have a winner!



Our website is also FINALLY live and good to go! I also had the privilege of interviewing Eric Helms (http://www.naturalphysiquesciences.c...c-helms-/c1ix3), and as we speak I am in the process of interviewing another person who has had a big impact on my life.

As for where my training is at, well basically I cut sheiko 40 off after 3 weeks since I am no longer able to do the meet I had planned on next month due to work commitments and right now my focus simply isn't in powerlifting. I have worked something together which is a chest/delt/arm specialization cycle which i'm loving!

I think Sheiko is a great program to run coming out of a contest prep! Good choice and excited to see what you discovering running it

It was awesome while it lasted! Later, if my focus changes, i'll be back on it for sure.

[bigryan03]

Hypertrophy legs/back/biceps

19/07/2013

Weight
74kg (163.1lbs)

Macros
55/350/250

Cardio
none

Training

Lower/back/bis Hypertrophy
(all weight in kgs - copied directly from evernote):

Deadlift - 3-4 sets x 4-6 reps:
(Goal this week = 170 x 4, 160 x 4 x 3)
170 x 4, 4
140 x 15 (touch and go)

Leg curls SS w/leg extension - 3 sets x 10-12 reps:

Vertical row - 4 sets x 8-10 reps:
Neutral grip
60 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Horizontal row - 4 sets x 10-12 reps:
Chest supported db
20s x 12, 12, 12, 12

Db curls - 4 sets x 8-10 reps:

Calf press SS w/abs - 4 sets x 15-18 reps:


Notes
Had a blast today in the gym! PR on deads which is nice.

Got some footage from today below.