Reid's journey to first natural contest

[Reid456]

Hey everyone, thanks for taking the time to visit my journal! I would appreciate it if you would subscribe and join me in my journey! I've already done it in my mind, now I've just got to show the world.

Background/Bio
I was introduced to lifting when I decided my senior year of high school (December 2008) that I needed to make a change in my life and joined the track team. I had done no sports and wasn't very active beforehand. I was skinny-fat. I became addicted to progression though, on both the track and in the weight room. I got all I could ever hope for in my only year of track and actually placed in districts and made it to regionals with a 200m time of 23.78s. A lot more than others on my team had done in 4 years. That's what taught me I could do anything I put my mind to and worked hard. I knew I didn't have a track career in college because I only had a year of experience but I knew I HAD to keep lifting and training. It became my passion. Now I have decided I am going to take my training further and compete in natural bodybuilding and no one is going to tell me otherwise. I also am currently pursuing a bachelor's in Chemistry at JMU.

2008 starting picture:

How embarassing! 147 pounds!

Current pictures:



Maybe still embarassing, haha. I have a lot of work to do! These pictures are at a weight of 168 (evening weight)

About my training:
I currently just switched to PHAT (Layne Norton's routine) and I'm giving that a go. I was on GST for 9-10 months previously but I had kind of stalled out and I switched to PHAT because I want to see how my body responds to higher volume/frequency training, especially my overall upper body which needs the most work. In the past, I've also done 5x5 training and a couple different splits when I first started. I know I have no leg pictures, but they are far ahead of everything else right now. I think they are around 23" last time I checked. Still need to bring those up a little more though.

I'm currently on a slight deficit and I'm eating at 2500 calories a day. I just recently moved out and am now able to keep track of all my calories for the first time in my life so I'm still working out some kinks but it's fairly easy so far. All you have to do is plan in advance! I'm finally able to completely control my nutrition! I will hopping back on the bulk train soon and won't be getting off anytime soon.

Goals
Press strength: Bench 225x1 (I've never been good at flat BB bench)
Deadlift: 370x5 and 405x1
Arms: Get arms to 15"
Chest: Improve chest measurement through lat and chest developement (not sure on current measurement)
Squat: 290x5
Calves: Improve calf measurement
Traps: Add size to lacking traps
Cardio: Maintain cardio at least 1x per week even during bulk.

...and most importantly I need to ask myself everyday....

"What have I done today to make myself better?"

I also challenge you to ask yourself the same question. Our time is limited on this Earth and we must make the most of it.

[Reid456]

Saturday August 6th - Lower Power
BB Back Squat- 245x 5, 5, 5

Starting things out a little bit light to get used to the new schedule. Squats felt good today. I'm a little tight in my right hip flexor though.

Hack Squat-195x 5, 5, 5

Haven't done hack squats in ages so this was more-or-less a form check. Conveniently I took a video of it for more opinions as well.

RDL- 195x 9, 8

RDLs were a little lighter than usual today and I really focused on form. Here's a video of one of the sets.


Leg extension- 140x 10; 150x 10

Pretty light, I'm on a different machine so I'm adjusting to how it scales to the old machine.

BB standing calf raise- 325x 10, 10, 10

[JDx3]

I'll be following you Reid!! Best of luck!!

[2020Wellness]

Reid, your form looks amazing on those RDLs, but I'd like to see you getting the weight to the floor with each rep. *Let the floor take the hit and reverse the motion of the barbell. *Plus, you'll stretch out those hams a bit more, which is always a positive thing.

With the hack squats, you might want to consider putting your heels on some plates, which is common for that movement. *If you look at the degree of knee bend you're getting, it's fairly small. *A hack squat is suppose to be a deep squat with plenty of knee bend. *Do you see what I'm talking about? *Getting the heels on some plates will increase your knee bend. *That hack variation is just a beotch anyways, so best of luck with it!

Overall though, good stuff. *You seem confident with your training, and that will take you far.

[2020Wellness]

Anyone know why some of my posts have asteriks before every new sentence?!

[FastCatChamp]

In

I cant do those hacks period, so more power to you if you can get them figured out.

[Reid456]

Reid, your form looks amazing on those RDLs, but I'd like to see you getting the weight to the floor with each rep. *Let the floor take the hit and reverse the motion of the barbell. *Plus, you'll stretch out those hams a bit more, which is always a positive thing.

With the hack squats, you might want to consider putting your heels on some plates, which is common for that movement. *If you look at the degree of knee bend you're getting, it's fairly small. *A hack squat is suppose to be a deep squat with plenty of knee bend. *Do you see what I'm talking about? *Getting the heels on some plates will increase your knee bend. *That hack variation is just a beotch anyways, so best of luck with it!

Overall though, good stuff. *You seem confident with your training, and that will take you far.

Thanks. Haha, I'm not sure about those asterisks in your sentences. Must be another side effect of this new format or something. I do see what you are saying about the hack squat. I've got a cheap barbell here at my house so I'll practice a little bit and try to get deeper. I do think plates under my heels would help but I think also I might not be sitting far back enough.

If you compare my back angle to this video, it looks like I'm leaning a little far forward but not a whole lot. Maybe it's just the mechanics of my body?


Weighed 162.8 this morning, dry. Just got a bathroom scale for my house and I'm surprised I'm this low. I haven't this low of a weight in a long time. It also makes me feel pretty good about my lifts though. I'm down from 177 at the very beginning of the summer and maintaining a lot of my strength in all my lifts. I was 15%BF then and I would guess I'm 11-12% now.

[freddie75104]

In



good luck with the new system,I do my RDLs the same way just barely off the floor,constant tension throughout.

[Reid456]

Breakfast this morning. Protein waffle.

3 whole eggs
1.5 scoops Scivation chocolate whey
40g oats
1/4 cup light syrup
1 cup milk
some blueberries

700 kcal

[pcaracer]

Best of luck in your new adventure. You have a great starting platform. Curious about your new program. Will you be posting your complete workouts here?

[Reid456]

Best of luck in your new adventure. You have a great starting platform. Curious about your new program. Will you be posting your complete workouts here?

Yep, when I remember to I will. If you look up at post #2 I posted my second workout of the program. I'm still working on things though and my gym right now doesn't have all the things I need and I'm moving to a new gym in a couple weeks when my job (and thus my gym access) is over.

It's essentially 5 days out of the week with 2 being "power" days split into upper and lower and 3 being more hypertrophy based bodybuilding training. So far I've done the two power workouts and I was surprised how easily I could actually get a whole upper body workout in one day. It felt really good to do both press and pull type lifts in one day. Of course, the weights are on the low side right now as I anticipate some roughness as I transition into higher volume training. You can read all about it here. I will probably end up with a modified version of this program, made to fit what my body needs, but keeping the same general structure.

Meal 2 today:


2 whole wheat slices
5 ounces chicken
90g green beans (garden grown)
28g Sweet Baby Rays!
28g cheddar cheese

615 kcal

[TheNaturalOak]

Hey Hey hey! First off I would like to thank you for following my journey & subing to my logs, Hopefully I can be jst as supportive. Alright, good progres from 2008. You seem to be jst as lean but ~20lbs heavier. Some constructive critisim / thing to think about. You RDL almost look like SLDL to me... You really dont have much hip/knee movement that is usually there wen performing RDL, also not doing a full range of motion, once u start going heavier, changing the weights direction in mid lift would be asking for injury. Let the weight touch the ground, and lift it again. (Again, jst trying to provide my .02 ) Alright now I have some questions for you.. If I read right, you are now bulking? When do plan on competing?

Edit
Sub'd

[Reid456]

Hey Hey hey! First off I would like to thank you for following my journey & subing to my logs, Hopefully I can be jst as supportive. Alright, good progres from 2008. You seem to be jst as lean but ~20lbs heavier. Some constructive critisim / thing to think about. You RDL almost look like SLDL to me... You really dont have much hip/knee movement that is usually there wen performing RDL, also not doing a full range of motion, once u start going heavier, changing the weights direction in mid lift would be asking for injury. Let the weight touch the ground, and lift it again. (Again, jst trying to provide my .02 ) Alright now I have some questions for you.. If I read right, you are now bulking? When do plan on competing?

Edit
Sub'd

Hey thanks for subbing. I plan on competing hopefully either next summer or the summer after that. "When I'm ready" is my answer right now I guess. I really need to pack on a lot of mass before I step on stage. Yeah I'm actually leaner now than I was when I started and even before that picture I basically had a little kid beer belly before I started running track, haha.

Most of the videos of RDLs I have seen on youtube do not go all the way to the ground and everything I've read says just to go as low as you can until you get a really good stretch. But now you and Ryan both are saying go all the way to the floor? So I wonder what is really correct? Also, I'm not 100% sure on the difference between a SLDL and a RDL.

I'm still at 2500 kcal right now slightly cutting and plan on starting up the bulk in the next couple weeks. I'm not sure how many calories it will take for me to gain weight at a slow pace so I'll up them slowly. I've never tracked calories before a few weeks ago when I moved out and started cooking for myself so it will be interesting to see how my body responds.

[Reid456]

Morning weight today: 163.6

Going in for my first back/shoulders hypertrophy day after a short nap. It'll be interesting keeping my rest sets so low as I haven't trained with set rest periods ever, I don't think. Also, my gym right now is just a municipal gym so I don't even have a lat pulldown or seated row so I'm going to have to get creative with my back assistance exercises until I get to go to my nice gym in two weeks. But hey, it's free so I can't complain. Actually I guess they are kind of paying me to use it. Anyway, I'm thinking some BB corner rows are in order today Going to kill it!

[JDx3]

Reid, how do you like those Hack Squats?
Being that your a GST guy, would you consider them a good Squat Day supplementary lift?

[Reid456]

Reid, how do you like those Hack Squats?
Being that your a GST guy, would you consider them a good Squat Day supplementary lift?

I've done hack squats a long time ago in another program but I actually do rather like them. I think once I revise my form and get a little more ROM I'll like them even more. They are a little awkward at first but I really feel it puts a good amount of stress on your quads. A good supplement lift, for sure. FYI, I'm not on GST anymore I've just switched to Layne Norton's PHAT.

Monday August 8th - Back/Shoulder Hypertrophy

5 min cardio warmup at 6:53 mile pace.

Weighted pullups - Speed work
bw+10lbs - 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Focus here is putting full power into the concentric portion of the lift and doing it as fast, yet controlled, as possible. Rest sets under 90s.

BB bent row
135- 10, 10, 10

Really focused on form today and staying close to parallel as possible.

Wide-grip rack pullups
bw- 10, 10, 10

BB bent over long bar row
1x45 + 1x35 - 20; 2x45s - 19



I've actually never really done this exercise before. I've always used the T-bar machine. I really like it though! Felt a great contraction in my lats/middle back. Let me have it about my form. I think I needed to get a little closer to parallel. I'm not sure what weight is actually good for this lift but I had no trouble getting 20 reps and the 19 rep set was actually easy as well. Going to add another plate next time and see what happens. Also, I didn't have access to a V-bar attachment so the grip was a little weird and I refused to do a baseball grip, haha.

DB shrugs
70s - 20, 16

DB seated shoulder press
50s - 10, 8, 6

Triceps held me back here on the second and third sets. I've got a weird sticking point with my triceps that I'm trying to work out.

Upright row
75lb - 9, 8

Pretty low weight here. I've never been a huge fan of this lift. I felt pretty weak and it feels awkward on my wrists.

DB lateral raise
20s - 8, 9

Pretty tough. Been a long time since I've actually done any direct shoulder work.

Post-workout Meal

65g chocolate ice cream (140 kcal)
2 scoops Scivation chocolate whey (200 kcal)
1 banana (~100 kcal)
1 cup milk (90 kcal)

Total kcal: 530

Absolutely wolfed this down. This served as my dinner tonight as well.

[FastCatChamp]

On the Long Bar Rows (I call them VBar Rows) only use 25 pound plates and you will double the ROM and it will feel like a totally different deal. With no VBar available just put one hand over the other and alternate which hand is on top every set.

Form looked fine but as I stated the 45's take away a ton of the ROM.

BTW...nice fat selection on the "dinner"

[Reid456]

On the Long Bar Rows (I call them VBar Rows) only use 25 pound plates and you will double the ROM and it will feel like a totally different deal. With no VBar available just put one hand over the other and alternate which hand is on top every set.

Form looked fine but as I stated the 45's take away a ton of the ROM.

BTW...nice fat selection on the "dinner"

Haha nothing wrong with a little ice cream now and then. I've been working on this tub for over a month now.

Yeah you can see I was actually hitting myself with the plates on accident haha. 25s do sound like they would give you a lot more ROM. Thanks!

[Reid456]

I've been doing a little research on the difference between a romanian deadlift and a stiff-legged deadlift and there seems to be little consensus on the real definition of each lift. It seems Romanian DL keeps the bar closer to the body with a little more knee flexion and the butt farther out, and stiff legged deadlift doesn't keep the bar close to the body, you essentially just bend over keeping a tiny bit of knee bend. However, most of the videos/articles I've seen/read don't recommend going all the way to the floor with them. So maybe if I get that flexible one day, but really I've got pretty long legs so I think biomechanically it's better for me to not go all the way to the ground. If I do go to the ground, I would have to bend my knees a little more and the movements then becomes a blur between a conventional deadlift and an RDL. I guess there really is no black and white when it comes to differentiating different deadlift movements. It's all just really about what will benefit you the most and what is safe.

Expect more videos today. It's lower hypertrophy day. Also called "Death" in some countries. I'll get a field report in T-minus 1.5 hours.

[Reid456]

Tuesday August 9th - Lower Hypertrophy

BB Back Squat - Speed work
160 - 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Speed squatting is pretty hard. I think this speed work is really going to help me power out of the hole better in the future.

hack squat
225- 8, 9, 9

Tried to get my legs lower today. These were pretty difficult.

Leg press (machine)
230- 14, 14

Never used this machine before. It's essentially a leg press where the chair moves instead of the platform and it uses cabled weights. Getting a regular leg press in a week.

Leg extension
120- 20, 20

RDL
185 - 8, 8, 8

Standing BB calf raise
275- 19, 19, 17, 15, 19

Post-workout Meal

90g Sweet Corn (100kcal)
100g Green Beans (~20kcal)

Shake:
1 cup milk (90kcal)
2 scoops Scivation chocolate whey (200kcal)
40g oats (150kcal)
17g natural peanut butter (100kcal)

Total: 660 kcal

Total kcal today: 2615; exact same as yesterday. Going to start up the bulk next week.

[Reid456]

Total exhaustion hit me today. I was so sluggish at work and all I could think about was food and sleep. I took a nap at lunch and took a nap when I got home. Now I'm still exhausted but I'm going to the gym anyway. Calories are already at 2000 today. I don't know why I'm so hungry and tired.

[Reid456]

Wednesday August 10th - Chest/Arms Hypertrophy

5 minutes treamill, .6 miles

Flat BB bench
125x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Again, hypertrophy days start out with speed work. Focus is on applying maximum force to move the bar through the motion as fast as possible on the concentric. Short rest sets (<90s)

DB incline press
50x 12, 10, 10

Dips
bw x 10, 10, 10

Chest press (seated)
100x 17, 9

Triceps just died out on the second set. This is a common problem for me. I'm pretty bad on lockout but my chest would be fine for a lot more reps. Any advice on how to work on this?

DB hammer curl
30x 12, 12, 11

Arms looking pretty sick in the mirror. They are too small though.

Preacher curl machine
80x8 65x9

Tricep pushdowns (straight bar)
62.5x12, 8

DB overhead extensions
40x9

Last rep was tough. Called it day after one set here because my triceps were completely exhausted.

Thoughts
Pretty good workout. I'm a little limited by equipment right now so I had to use a couple things I'm not used to. I'm most likely changing up these exercises once I get access to some better machines/equipment next week. Can't wait! I have a slight handicap when it comes to bicep workouts though. I can pretty much only DB hammer curl because I am unable to supinate my left wrist more than about 10 degrees due to an injury a long time ago. Haha, my elbow looks pretty freaky. There's nothing the doctors can do to fix it and I've come to terms with it a long time ago. It makes stimulating my biceps hard sometimes but there's nothing I can do about it. I am just thankful I have no pain or any other complications from it.

Picture from post-workout.


Any estimates on BF level? I'm guessing 11 or 12 percent? I was 15% at 177 in early May (bodpod test)

[Reid456]

Morning weight this morning was 164.2. Still eating at about 2500 calories though the last few days have been 2600-2700 because I have been so hungry. It's okay though, because I'm burning a lot of calories at work when I'm outside all day in the sun. I'm not in contest prep or anything, so no matter my calorie goal, I'm going to eat when I'm really hungry regardless. Also, I think this increased volume of workouts has upped my maintenance.

Today I'm going in for Upper Power. I'm still pretty sore in my back/shouders/chest from those hypertrophy days so we'll see how it goes today.

Here's a clip from a great movie and a truly inspirational man: Will Smith.


That's how I'm living my life.

[Reid456]

Friday August 12th - Upper Power

5 minutes treadmill at 7:03 minute/mile pace

Flat BB bench
170x4, 4, 4

Decent for me especially at this low of a bodyweight and not doing flat BB bench in a long time. Only last set went to failure. Still obviously a weakpoint. I'm hoping my bench is going to shoot up as I gain weight and get used to the movement again.

DB incline press
60x8, 8

Weighted Pullups
bw+40x5, 5, 5

Wasn't too challenging. Upping weight again next week. I have really gained a lot of pullup strength. Neutral grips must have really upped my strength.

BB bent rows
155x8, 9

Videos from BB bent rows today:


I felt like I was closer to parallel than this, but still decent form I think. I need to add a lot of weight to this lift.

DB 1 arm row
75x10, 10

DB overhead extension
50x10 55x10

I just started doing this exercise a week or two ago so I'm moving up quickly in weight. Focus is on keeping triceps in close to the body and not flaring out. So many people do this movement wrong and it turn it into a shoulder press.
Thoughts

Pretty good workout today. I still have that post workout "feeling" 8 hours later. Lower Power is tomorrow. Hitting the deadlifts hard. Going for 300-315 for 3 sets of 5.

[Reid456]

Just had a fantastic meal.

Shredded Wheat (no sugar; all natural variety) - 3 biscuits (240kcal)
1 scoop chocolate whey (100kcal)
17g natural peanut butter (100kcal)
1 packet stevia extract
cinnamon
1/2 cup fat free milk (45kcal)

485 kcal of tastiness!

[pcaracer]

Looking good in here. That program looks great and really a challenge. I bet you'll find you need to start adding mor food sooner rather than later. Might help that recovery time and energy loss you've experienced. Your gonna look totally different next year.

[Reid456]

Looking good in here. That program looks great and really a challenge. I bet you'll find you need to start adding mor food sooner rather than later. Might help that recovery time and energy loss you've experienced. Your gonna look totally different next year.

Thanks. Yeah I've upped to calories to 2800 now and I'm monitoring weight every day. I'll get a good idea of the general trend over the next couple weeks then proceed from there. I've got a little catching up to do in terms of posting workouts but I've been busy studying for an organic test for credit tomorrow. Kind of a big deal.... but I've still got the gym and nutrition as a main priority.

Updates to proceed on a normal schedule after tomorrow. Hitting a Lower Hypertrophy day here in a couple hours as a study break, haha.

[Reid456]

Absolutely killer lower hypertrophy day today! Halfway through the workout I had the urge of almost throwing up after every set. My quads were so pumped/unsteady that I had to take a 5 minute rest before RDLs because my legs couldn't support me. I actually haven't had a workout like this in a while. Time to break through some plateaus.

Details of the last three workouts tomorrow!

Had a fantastic lunch today!



157g Chicken
172g Brown Rice
1 large carrot
broccoli
Sweet baby rays sauce
1 slice cheddar cheese
oregano

For my beverage:
1 scoop scivation whey
1 banana
ice
stevia

I must say it's one of the better meals I've made recently!

[Reid456]

Saturday August 13th - Lower Power

5 minute treadmill warmup; 7:30 mile pace

Deadlift
315x5, 5, 5

Solid sets here. No belt. Really happy with these sets at my current bodyweight. I feel I can go heavier.

Hack Squat
235x8, 10

RDL
205x 9, 7

Grip failed on my second set. Frustrating. Might have to use straps at this weight.... or become a man.

Leg Extension
170x 10, 10

Pretty easy

Standing calf raise
345x 8, 8

Thoughts
Solid workout. Incorporating leg curls from now on because I have access to a machine now.

Monday August 15th - Shoulders/Back Hypertrophy

I only had 40 minutes to workout which actually worked out pretty well as it forced me to keep rest sets at 1 minute. Didn't get 2 of the exercises done but they supplemental shoulder exercises.

Pullups
bw+10x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Fast as possible concentric movement

BB Bent row
145x 10, 10, 8

Getting pretty close to parallel.

wide grip rack pullups
bwx12, 10, 10

Had a HUGE pump at this point!

BB long bar bent row
bar+95lbsx 16, 15

Really starting to get fatigued here. Weight wasn't that heavy but muscle endurance was tested.

DB shoulder press
45sx 12, 12, 9

DB shrug
75sx 20, 20

Tuesday August 16th - Lower Hypertrophy
Deadlift
205x3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Hack Squat
225x 12, 12

Tough sets here.

Leg Press machine
230x 16, 15, 15

Tested my will power here. Legs were screaming.

Leg extension
120x 20, 20

RDL
185x 10, 10, 10

Actually had to take a 5 minute break before the RDLs because my legs wouldn't support my body, haha. Pretty cool feeling actually. Haven't had that feeling in a while. Every time I do though it just make me laugh and I have no idea why.

BB standing calf raise
275x 16, 18

Wednesday August 17th - Chest/Arms Hypertrophy

flat BB bench
130x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

You know the drill: Fast as possible concentric movement.

DB incline
55sx 12, 10, 8

+5 pounds here but last set wasn't too strong

dips
bw- 10, 10, 12

seated chest press
85x 15, 17

DB hammer curl
30x10, 11, 11

preacher curl machine
65x 11, 11

tricep pushdowns
62.5x 20, 17

DB overhead extensions
40x 10, 9


Drinking some alcohol tonight for the first time since March. My roommate and best friend is turning 21 so.... going to have some fun. Not too much though.

Grilling a couple Ribeyes soon! Mmmm....

[Reid456]

Last night was.... interesting. Probably drank a little too much and should've have eaten half a sheetz sub, but it's only once in a blue moon I have alcohol. Getting back on track today with diet and going to do some extra cardio to make up for the things I should've have eaten/drank last night. Joining a new gym today. It's Upper Power day!