Josh Niemi..."The Journey"

[triplewhammy]

Very tough lineup and good job up there dude.

Thanks man. Nothing like the Novice class of '06 that's for sure...

I said it in my rep to you but I just wanted to throw a post down as well. Awesome job. Inspirational stuff. Your attitude was pretty damn amazing throughout for someone on roughly 1,500 calories!

Thanks bro. Really what got me off my game in the end was the cold, either way it was an all-around excellent prep.

[triplewhammy]

Well it seems like the scale is trying to play mental games with me, and to some extent it's working...LOL! So, Saturday night after my show I of course had an epic meal...went to Applebee's and threw down an appetizer as well as a Cowboy burger with fries. Washed it down with water (instead of 6 flavored lemonades like 2010 haha). After we left I swung through Wendy's and got a medium Frosty for the drive home. That was it, which wasn't too bad. Sunday morning I had a bowl of oatmeal (one of my cravings believe it or not) with milk, and then a protein shake mixed in milk as well. Sunday lunch was 7 fajitas at the local Mexican place. Then I did 45 minutes of cardio in the gym to help burn it off and rev up my metabolism to keep the food moving. Sunday dinner was our family Thanksgiving so I threw down a couple solid plates of food, a slice of pumpkin pie, and about 6-8 oatmeal cookies. I think normally that would have sat fine with me, but I also drank about 4 diet pops and the carbonation put me over the top...ended up laying on the floor for a good 15 minutes after all the food! Anyway, that night I slept incredibly well...no sleep aid used and I went for about 9 hours, only waking up once to pee.

Monday morning the scale showed 169, up 6 pounds in just a couple days. It wasn't unbelievable, but it was a bit disappointing and not really ideal. But I had been planning on getting back on track Monday anyway so I just gritted my teeth and nailed my reverse diet of 1800 cals/day yesterday. Since my hip flexors, glutes, shoulder, and back were all extremely tight from the posing (plus I was still overtired from not enough sleep over the weekend) I had planned on not working out. Definitely felt some hunger pains as I went to bed but just overlooked them and stuck to my guns.

Today it was as if I was in the movie Groundhog Day...my 5 month old was cranky around 3:30 and by that time I was up and couldn't fall back to sleep, meaning another early early morning training session was in order. So I got up to work out, and stepped on the scale and it showed 166! Well that was pretty exciting for me even though who knows what tomorrow holds.

Anyway, I threw down a solid preworkout meal after my dose of I-Load and hit the gym for Chest/Triceps/Calves/Lateral Delts. The incredible thing is how much instant energy I have now that my cals are up slightly and my carbs are back. My preworkout stims consisted of 1 cup of coffee and 1 Hemo-Rage shot. Sounds like a lot but not at all compared to what I had been doing. Ended up having a phenomenal workout.


10 min Elliptical (warmup)
2 sets Machine Chest Press (warmup)

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

Incline DB Press:
70s x 8
70s x 8
70s x 9

2 sets Incline Machine Press
8 sets Calf Exercises
12+ sets Tricep Exercises
8 sets Lateral Delt Exercises
15 min Elliptical


I have to admit, doing post-workout cardio is still a very foreign concept to me, mainly just some remaining dogma/broscience from my college days. But I pounded it out and I'm feeling excellent. Chest strength is fantastic all things considered and the pump/vascularity was crazy. Overall I have to admit that I am really enjoying the weight that I'm at right now, especially getting to see the muscle actually contract and noticing how well the carbs affect me and I think that this will be the best motivation more than anything else to stick with my reverse diet. I'm feeling like I have a great foundation to set the stage for an epic offseason and that is energizing me and motivating me big time! Now let's just see if the scale cooperates with all this LOL!

[swimmer32]

Sunday lunch was 7 fajitas at the local Mexican place.

That was impressive man - they don't skimp on their serving size either!

It sounds like you're off and running towards a great offseason! Are you going to keep this thread going until your next show? I mean - why stop now right?

[fltallpaul]

Awesome news, way to hit the rebound so smooth...6lbs is nothing and can be chalked up to sodium, water and some extra food. I promise if you hit your numbers this week you will be right back where you were by the weekend! Looking forward to your next step as well!

[triplewhammy]

That was impressive man - they don't skimp on their serving size either!

It sounds like you're off and running towards a great offseason! Are you going to keep this thread going until your next show? I mean - why stop now right?

What was ridiculous was the fact that I was running on a treadmill an hour later...

Yeah for now this is going to keep going...the journey continues!!!

Awesome news, way to hit the rebound so smooth...6lbs is nothing and can be chalked up to sodium, water and some extra food. I promise if you hit your numbers this week you will be right back where you were by the weekend! Looking forward to your next step as well!

Yeah so far so good I think. I went to bed hungry last night so I definitely know my body isn't too happy LOL! This week is critical for sure. Next week the plan is to bump to 2000 calories, and then +100 each week thereafter until I find a sweet spot where I'm not starving yet not gaining too quickly either. Mentally I've told myself that the diet is not over, this is simply a diet + cheat meals (holiday gatherings, etc). I'm going to make sure to get in a very hard workout session on days that I know there will be a cheat meal involved too.

[triplewhammy]

Morning weight: 165!!!

Hit up Back/Lats/Biceps today. Fantastic workout, got up to Corner Rows 6 plates for 6. Possibly could have done more but it seemed like my right bicep tendon was a bit tight and I didn't see any reason to push it. Also worked up to Standing Barbell Curl 110 x 6 and HS Iso Row 3pps x 10. Put in a ton of volume all around and finished off with 15 minutes on the Elliptical. Definitely still feeling weird to do cardio after lifting, mainly because I'm going "heavy" again now and I only typically do cardio in this fashion during a diet. It always seemed to me like if I had energy for cardio afterwards then I needed to get back to the weights and put in more work. But, it seems to be working so I'm not going to complain.

Also, I've been holding off on buying supplements until the Black Friday deals rolled around but I'm pretty well out of BCAAs so I had to place an order yesterday. Just got some protein and a couple 10-serving tubs of Dymatize Recoup to hold me over. In the meantime, today I used Gaspari SP Max intraworkout -- great blend with 2g Leucine per serving and tons of other ergogenic goodies plus the stim content never seemed to do anything for me so it actually functions pretty well in this fashion. Got me pumped up very nicely and the vascularity was crazy! I love working out at this low of a bodyfat!

[TheLiftLife]

this thread is pure gold. Awesome motovation, glad to hear the reverse is going good!
The more carbs you have the more positive you are

[swimmer32]

Also, I've been holding off on buying supplements until the Black Friday deals rolled around but I'm pretty well out of BCAAs so I had to place an order yesterday.

I can't wait for the Black Friday deals - I'm really hoping there's some killer stuff out there. Any brand of BCAA's that you'd recommend?

[triplewhammy]

this thread is pure gold. Awesome motovation, glad to hear the reverse is going good!
The more carbs you have the more positive you are

Glad to hear you are enjoying it. And yes, the carbs are helping! Last week with no carbs, no dairy, and no diet pop was downright terrible!

I can't wait for the Black Friday deals - I'm really hoping there's some killer stuff out there. Any brand of BCAA's that you'd recommend?

Yeah I'm ready to drop some serious coin. Already saw at least one place that I may purchase from if all others fall through.

Here are some amino products I would go with given the right price:
Scivation Xtend
BSN Amino-X
Monster Amino
USPlabs Modern BCAA
Dymatize Recoup
MRM BCAA+G
Genomyx Protocol
CL Purple PsyKO

Basically keep an eye out for any BCAA products that have at least 3g Leucine. Some "look" like good deals but are underdosed.

I'll also be stocking up on other essentials (protein, fish oil, glucosamine, cissus, multivitamin) and other random things such as DAA, Triazole, glucose-disposal products, etc.

[demonwareltd]

Looks like weight has come back down just fine! It is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster stepping on that scale day after day once your show is over. I went from 183 lbs on show day to 196 two days later, and now I'm back to 186. Once you tighten your diet back up, the bloat goes away and the abs come back out to play!

[triplewhammy]

Looks like weight has come back down just fine! It is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster stepping on that scale day after day once your show is over. I went from 183 lbs on show day to 196 two days later, and now I'm back to 186. Once you tighten your diet back up, the bloat goes away and the abs come back out to play!

Exactly what is happening!

[The Solution]

Check your PM"s regarding supps i could possibly get you a better deal!

[nads786]

Looks like I missed a lot amazing work man! You looked great! What are your off season goals now?

[triplewhammy]

Check your PM"s regarding supps i could possibly get you a better deal!

haha yeah better hurry the wallet is already starting to empty...

Looks like I missed a lot amazing work man! You looked great! What are your off season goals now?

Well so far it's to STAY LEAN (I will diet before going over 200lbs this time) and a 400lb bench. That's all I have at the moment. Just trying to reverse diet out of this mess first, then get my head straight LOL!

[Frankdaddy]

400lbs on bench will be great, that chest shows the pressing power!!!

[triplewhammy]

400lbs on bench will be great, that chest shows the pressing power!!!

Right on, I thin it's a good goal. I did 365 and it went up pretty well, then did a negative with 405. Definitely heavy!!! Right now the plan is just to get back to a "normal" weight throughout the holidays and then get some better goals in order come the start of January. I'm also thinking a 495 squat is in order.

[triplewhammy]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Well last night my wife wanted to go out to eat and she definitely deserves to be treated after all she's put up with the past 33 weeks, so I ended up getting in a solid cheat meal at a restaurant...I ordered basically a "mini" Thanksgiving with turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, and stuffing. It went down nice and easy! This morning I pulled a classic and woke up around 2am and my body was trying to act like it was up for the day. So, I surfed the Black Friday supplement deals for a bit until I was tired and then went back to bed until 5:30am. Woke up at a bodyweight of 167...not too shabby. Geared up for my annual Thanksgiving Leg Day session, great way to minimize the cheat-meal damage and prepare for an anabolic rebound!

Morning schedule went like this...

5:30am -- 1 cap I-Load, 2 Digestive Enzymes
5:45am -- Preworkout Meal consisting of coffee, a breakfast sandwich (1 slice turkey ham, 1 egg, cheese, 2 slices bread), a banana, a protein shake, and a muffin. I estimated around 900 calories for this carb bomb... ya buddy!
6:00am -- 1 more Digestive Enzyme (for good measure)
7:00am -- 1 serving Muscle Marinade
7:30am to 10:00am -- LEG TRAINING (sipped on Superpump Max intraworkout cuz I'm gangster like that LOL!)
10:00am -- Post-workout shake consisting of 1.5 scoops protein, milk, and 3 fun size candy bars, all blended up

The Leg session went like this...

10 min Elliptical (warmup)
1 set Machine Leg Press
Stretching

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

Power Runner Machine:
1pps x 20
2pps x 20
3pps x 20

8 sets Seated Leg Curl
3 sets Seated Leg Extension
15 min Elliptical

Felt great and I think it went well for 5 days post-competition! Now it's time to throw down some more food!!!

Feeling thankful today not only for my family, my job, my material possessions, and my health, but for the fact that I've been forgiven of every bad thing I've done in life because of what my Savior Jesus Christ did on that cross 2000 years ago. Puts everything else into perspective.

"...for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:8)

[The Solution]

have a great thanksgiving man.

[triplewhammy]

have a great thanksgiving man.

Right on, you too! I expect some EPIC food pics out of you!

[triplewhammy]

Towards the end of our meal, my 3-yr old son Carter was in another room being really really quiet. We were almost sure he was going poop and hiding. Turns out he was upstairs on Grandpa's old weight bench attempting to chest press a pair of pink 5 lb dumbbells...LOL!!! I have never even explicitly shown him that exercise hahah! I told him to show me his muscles and he hit a solid crab most muscular and I could tell he felt a little more jacked after his "workout"! I told him next to have Daddy help him first...crazy kid lifting heavy chest without a spotter!!!

[Frankdaddy]

Glad t osee your realization of our love and savior Jesus, very proud that you and your family know where the true calling in life is. In the end that is what it all boils down to, just put a huge smile on my face reading that. Without him we would not be where we are today, doing what we love to do and the real freedom that we have comes from him dying for us, we have our choices, and hopefully it's the right one by living in his blood. God Bless you and the family!!!

[triplewhammy]

Glad t osee your realization of our love and savior Jesus, very proud that you and your family know where the true calling in life is. In the end that is what it all boils down to, just put a huge smile on my face reading that. Without him we would not be where we are today, doing what we love to do and the real freedom that we have comes from him dying for us, we have our choices, and hopefully it's the right one by living in his blood. God Bless you and the family!!!

Absolutely bro, absolutely. You are right, at the end of the day when we die and have to give an account for our life we will not be judged by how ripped or strong we are but whether or not we have kept God's commandments. I know I haven't, so I'd be guilty and be punished if it weren't for Christ taking that punishment for me already 2000 years ago. Jesus saves bad people like me. That is the best news anyone could ever know!

[Jrich54338]

Absolutely bro, absolutely. You are right, at the end of the day when we die and have to give an account for our life we will not be judged by how ripped or strong we are but whether or not we have kept God's commandments. I know I haven't, so I'd be guilty and be punished if it weren't for Christ taking that punishment for me already 2000 years ago. Jesus saves bad people like me. That is the best news anyone could ever know!

I agree 100% by the way your pics show alot of hard work you have a very bright future in this sport

[triplewhammy]

I agree 100% by the way your pics show alot of hard work you have a very bright future in this sport

Right on. Yep, back to the drawing board now. Mentally it may be difficult for me to start gaining again as I see the sixpack disappear...

[triplewhammy]

OCB MIDWEST STATES 2012 WRITE-UP PART 2

One of the things I love most about this show is that it has slowly built up a great history and legacy. Much of this I think is due to Layne's influence, especially his video series. I heard several competitors mention how they got started in natural bodybuilding after watching the series. What's crazy is that video series is like 5 years old now so some of the guys were talking about how they watched it in high school! When you look at the Overall winners of this show, you can see the caliber of athletes that its producing, especially when you consider that people like Tommy Jeffers and Ryan Doris have come through to become IFPA Pros. So, like I told Layne at the show, I blame him for the fact that I keep losing to all this fierce competition haha!





Anyway, I really loved the camaraderie this time around. Since I wasn't nervous about my physique I was much more relaxed and talkative backstage. Had a great time chatting with my buddy Cam Smith and Aaron Lobliner while pumping up in the back. Helped the time go by much quicker and made the experience that much more enjoyable. It was great getting to see a lot of familiar faces this time around too...Layne, Tommy, Doris, both Lobliners, Pete Fitschen,






I got some great feedback from Tommy who said my posing was fantastic which was cool to hear, especially since I hadn't practiced as much this time around! Ryan Doris was the guest poser this year and I got a chance to talk with him for a bit and he had some good encouragement for me as well. If I remember right, he seemed to be of the school of thought that it would actually be beneficial for me to compete sooner than every 2 years, so I will consider that. Aaron Lobliner also provided some great feedback for me in that my abs were sliced but I need to train them more to bring out the muscle definition, especially the intercostals and obliques. I couldn't agree more with him, especially since I basically don't train them directly and haven't for years now. Looks like I need to work them in to my weekly routine. That is all great feedback that I definitely appreciate going into the offseason now. As always, I want some more size on my Legs and need even better conditioning (I shudder thinking about getting another couple pounds leaner...LOL). But that's what it will take. I nailed my goals from my 2010 competition (better Shoulders, Arms, Legs, and conditioning) so it's just time to nail them again for whenever the next competition happens to be. At this point I'm on the fence as to when I will compete again since right now my goal is just to rehab my metabolism and strength and get back into the offseason grind. The default is of course to compete in 2014 but could definitely be sooner if I'm really feeling good and lean this offseason or maybe later if I don't feel like I have a 1st-place physique.





Overall I give all praise to God for keeping me healthy and focused for this show, I definitely don't take any of this for granted knowing that every rep is a blessing. All good things come from Him, first and foremost being my salvation through Christ Jesus.

If anyone has any more feedback for me to consider for physique improvements I would certainly love to hear them! I have plenty of room for improvement, that's for sure. Time to put in the work to make my next stage appearance a first place finish. Now that the offseason is back, it's GROW TIME!

[The Solution]

Your best post from above looks like your back double bicep, your back really sticks out in your physique. I agree you could use more size especially hamstrings (from the back they do not look very thick). From the front you look very symmetrical which is a very good thing and what bodybuilding is all about, more teardrop work (close stance legs) could help thicken your legs a touch and help with when you get thicker hamstrings to get a better overall appearance.

Upperbody wise you seem dominant as far as strength and look goes. Hope the other feedback from everyone there helped you.

[triplewhammy]

Your best post from above looks like your back double bicep, your back really sticks out in your physique. I agree you could use more size especially hamstrings (from the back they do not look very thick). From the front you look very symmetrical which is a very good thing and what bodybuilding is all about, more teardrop work (close stance legs) could help thicken your legs a touch and help with when you get thicker hamstrings to get a better overall appearance.

Upperbody wise you seem dominant as far as strength and look goes. Hope the other feedback from everyone there helped you.

Sweet, thanks! I really do appreciate the feedback bro, you've been a big help these past couple of weeks. I love an honest evaluation. You are right, more hamstring work and also more close stance legs is exactly right. I am going to implement my 2nd day of Leg training again with Leg Press as my primary exercise instead of Squats to work on that and also to leave me with more energy to hit my hammies. Back has always been one of my best attributes for sure.

[triplewhammy]

Well today I woke up at 168.8 which was no surprise after the EPIC cheating from Thursday LOL! There was actually a point in time on Thanksgiving where I took a blender bottle and blended up crushed ice, 1 scoop Vanilla PROnom 23, milk, and an entire slice of pumpkin pie! HAHAH! Man it was so good, tasted like pumpkin pie ice cream. So needless to say I was WAAAAY over my calories for the day, which is why it didn't phase me to see the scale reflect it. Yesterday I took a rest day from the gym in order to recover from the Black Friday shopping I did with my wife. Nailed my calories at 1800 though. Last night I also did a bit of foam rolling since my legs felt absolutely destroyed, to the point where they were excruciating to the touch.

Today I decided to increase to 2000 calories. I feel like my body is ready for it and physically I just need to get back to normal energy levels not only for my sake but also so I can function better as a husband and dad at home. There were some days during prep where I was just such a zombie that I was near worthless at home. I need to get my priorities back in order and the extra calories give me what I need to play hard with my son and help my wife out around the house. All the cheat meals recently have probably more than broke in my metabolism anyway. So this week I'm rolling at 2000 calories, looking forward to getting back to grow mode and not feeling frail and exhausted all the time.

This morning I got up at 4:30am, fed my daughter, fed myself, and hit the gym for Shoulders and Arms. Intraworkout again I went with SP Max but also threw in 1 scoop Genomyx Protocol to get the Leucine dose up to snuff. This combination gave me WICKED pumps, some of the best I feel I've ever had. Worked my way up to 3pps + 25 x 8 on the HS Shoulder Press and also did Standing DB Curl 50s x 8. So all in all pretty good strength. Volume was through the roof, as I put in another 2.5 hour workout, starting with 10 min on the Elliptical and finishing with another 20. If I keep up the post-lifting cardio I think it's going to be a huge benefit for making LEAN gains this offseason. I seem to gain weight pretty easy and I can out-eat my metabolism very easily so the cardio should help trim off any extra calories.

Looking to hit the gym tomorrow morning again and train Legs with more of a high-volume (leg press instead of squats) workout. My legs are sore right now so I can only imagine what the first couple of sets are going to feel like. GROW TIME!

[triplewhammy]

Woke up this morning at 165.8 lbs LOL! I have no idea what the scale is doing anymore, at this point I'm just checking for run since it is all over the place. I will stop checking daily in a couple weeks but for now it's just interesting to see drastic swings! Hit up my 2nd Leg Day this week having just trained them on Thursday. Gotta grow these bad boys!

10 min Elliptical, 5 min Bike (warmup)
12 sets Machine Leg Press
12 sets Seated Leg Curl
2 sets 20-step DB Lunges
20 min Elliptical

Definitely going to be foam rolling and stretching later! I will be good to go with twice-a-week Leg Training if I can keep my hip flexors in good shape

[triplewhammy]

Morning weight 165.6... LOL....

Hit up Back/Lats/Biceps this morning at 4am...daughter was up and at 'em from like 2:00 to 3:00 and even though I was planning on sleeping more I finally just threw in the towel and got up.


10 min Elliptical (warmup)

Corner Rows:
1p x 15
2p x 15
3p x 10
4p x 8
5p x 8
6p x 12 (last 2 need better form)

Standing Barbell Curl:
50 x 8
65 x 8
80 x 8
95 x 8
110 x 7

HS Iso Row:
1pps x 10
2pps x 8
3pps x 8

6 sets Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown
3 sets Parallel-Grip Lat Pulldown
3 sets DB Hammer Curl
6 sets 1-Arm Machine Curl
3 sets Cable Row
5 sets DB Shrugs
15 min Elliptical