Reid's Offseason Journey to become a Natural Pro

[Reid456]

Food

Raisin/apple pancakes


Burrito w/ mushroom + turkey + cheese + broccoli

Filling for burrito


Tortilla pizza w/ green peppers + mushrooms + chicken + brown rice


Marble cake w/ chocolate sludge (didn't turn out too well)


Chicken + lentils + rice + picante


turkey + mushrooms + egg + rice + PB/mustard

[Reid456]

Cottage cheese/yogurt pancakes w/ blueberries

[bigryan03]

Well heeeeelllooooooooooo epicness!

[The Solution]

Just made the baked oatmeal, it looks like it rose pretty well and is going to come out good!
props good sir!

[Reid456]

5/3/1 M1W2 Squat

Squat
3x warmup sets
1x3x195
1x3x225
1x3omx255 - 7
5x10x140

Smith Calf Raises
2pps + 2.5s x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Hit my rep goal for today. Definitely a PR for this bodyweight.

Bumped up macros to 50/325/190. Overall a 100 kcal increase. Weight has been 152-154 so still around contest weight.

Just made the baked oatmeal, it looks like it rose pretty well and is going to come out good!
props good sir!

Let me know how it turned out or what you think could improve it.

[Shazriki]

How are you feeling these days? Still hungry all the time/energy in the pooper etc? One issue for me while reversing is that I genuinely did not start feeling better until I had put on some weight... was a strange time. Hopefully you'll be able to stay leaner than me and return to some normality!

[NaturalPursuit]

How are you feeling these days? Still hungry all the time/energy in the pooper etc? One issue for me while reversing is that I genuinely did not start feeling better until I had put on some weight... was a strange time. Hopefully you'll be able to stay leaner than me and return to some normality!

YEAH the first couple weeks post contest are harder than pre! weird feeling lol

[The Solution]

Too much liquid in your recipe, but comes out very moist, need more dry or add a touch of flour/pancake mix.

Product out of oven



Sliced in half with protein pudding bananas and honey

[Reid456]

How are you feeling these days? Still hungry all the time/energy in the pooper etc? One issue for me while reversing is that I genuinely did not start feeling better until I had put on some weight... was a strange time. Hopefully you'll be able to stay leaner than me and return to some normality!

At this point its kind of hard to say. When you gradually start feeling crap over the course of 6 months, it kind of becomes the norm, so I think toward the end I just came to terms with it and accepted that most days were going to be hard. The biggest difference so far is the mental relief I have from not having a show looming on the horizon and feeling like my work in the gym is being used to actually improve myself instead of just maintaining. Prep definitely humbled me and showed me how much work I really have to put in to get to the level I want to. I definitely am just in a better mood overall throughout the day though. As far as hunger, I've been doing fine. I get hungry sometimes, but usually just before dinner and at this point hunger doesn't really bother me. I used to get anxious about not being able to feel full, but that doesn't bother me anymore. Over half my calories usually come from 6pm until I go to sleep so I'm pretty full which helps me sleep well and during the day when I'm not eating much I'm doing work in the lab or in class so there's no time to think about food.

The weirdest thing with me that I'm trying to deal with now, is just my low desire to be social. I have always been a bit of a loner, but over the course of my prep I drew more and more into myself. I used to feel pressure to socialize, but now I have so many outlets to be by myself I never feel the need to seek out social outings. I have my couple of really close friends I hang out with, but other than that I tend to just avoid socializing besides with my classmates at school. It's weird, I'm just completely fine with it, but I can tell it's not normal at all to be this way. It's like I've completely devalued relationships. I've just sort of alienated myself from society, and I think some of that has to do with the extremely individualistic mindset I have developed recently.

Too much liquid in your recipe, but comes out very moist, need more dry or add a touch of flour/pancake mix.

Why do you say there is too much liquid if it comes out moist? Isn't that we are going for? Not saying you are wrong (no such thing as wrong in cooking anyway, lol), just wondering your reasoning there. Also I was thinking maybe adding some pudding mix and see what happens? Btw, yours looks better than mine did, haha.

[The Solution]

Why do you say there is too much liquid if it comes out moist? Isn't that we are going for? Not saying you are wrong (no such thing as wrong in cooking anyway, lol), just wondering your reasoning there. Also I was thinking maybe adding some pudding mix and see what happens? Btw, yours looks better than mine did, haha.

Why? it took nearly 40 minutes to bake a simple oatmeal/loaf recipe, not to mention the batter was very liquid, not very thick or pudding like consistency for most things you bake or would cook (think pancakes on the stove) yes it was good, and it came out ok, and was moist, but if you added some SF/FF Pudding Mix, a touch of whey, or pancake mix to thicken up the batter IMO it would rise more and come out denser with that moisture/consistency you are looking for.

Just my 2 cents as far as baking goes.

[Reid456]

Why? it took nearly 40 minutes to bake a simple oatmeal/loaf recipe, not to mention the batter was very liquid, not very thick or pudding like consistency for most things you bake or would cook (think pancakes on the stove) yes it was good, and it came out ok, and was moist, but if you added some SF/FF Pudding Mix, a touch of whey, or pancake mix to thicken up the batter IMO it would rise more and come out denser with that moisture/consistency you are looking for.

Just my 2 cents as far as baking goes.

Yeah every other youtube video I've seen on baked oatmeal has the "batter" being a similar liquid consistency where you think its too runny but it does turn out okay. I'll have to experiment some more with it. Maybe cooking the oatmeal before baking it would speed up the time and allow you to make a thicker batter.

[Shazriki]

Well sh!t dude, those two paragraphs you wrote really resonated with me. I truly agree on all aspects you touched on there and your experiences are certainly the same as mine. The in-between meal hunger issue took a couple of months to subside, as did the borderline irrational fear of going to bed hungry, but it sounds like you're exiting that phase nicely.

And the social aspect I think is a somewhat unfortunate consequence of the individual nature of the sport. The fact that you've dedicated so much time pursuing YOUR activities to better YOUR physique absent of any true involvement from someone else, sort of drives you into this singular mindset. And the funny thing is this happens and it doesn't really bother you as such, I experienced the same thing. With each passing weekend I am completely indifferent as to whether I do anything with friends or not, if it happens, it happens, if it doesn't, it doesn't. One way or another I don't really care.

Perhaps it's something to work on, perhaps not. As long as you don't feel like an outcast and can break out of the mindset once in a while, I don't see a problem with it. It's certainly a highly productive mindset to be in from a productivity perspective, heh.

[Reid456]

Well sh!t dude, those two paragraphs you wrote really resonated with me. I truly agree on all aspects you touched on there and your experiences are certainly the same as mine. The in-between meal hunger issue took a couple of months to subside, as did the borderline irrational fear of going to bed hungry, but it sounds like you're exiting that phase nicely.

And the social aspect I think is a somewhat unfortunate consequence of the individual nature of the sport. The fact that you've dedicated so much time pursuing YOUR activities to better YOUR physique absent of any true involvement from someone else, sort of drives you into this singular mindset. And the funny thing is this happens and it doesn't really bother you as such, I experienced the same thing. With each passing weekend I am completely indifferent as to whether I do anything with friends or not, if it happens, it happens, if it doesn't, it doesn't. One way or another I don't really care.

Perhaps it's something to work on, perhaps not. As long as you don't feel like an outcast and can break out of the mindset once in a while, I don't see a problem with it. It's certainly a highly productive mindset to be in from a productivity perspective, heh.

Well it's good to hear someone else feels the same way. Yeah, college is just weird. Everyone is so focused on partying and socializing, I just don't fit that mold at all. There are times I'm really outgoing but it's not every single day. Kind of alienates you sometimes, but life goes on. At the end of the day, I am satisfied knowing that my decisions are based out a benefit to myself and others I care about, not what other people think about me.

[bigryan03]

I echo what Moses said 100%. I did my first show last year in May when I was 17 and prior to dieting it felt like unless I went out or did something with friends over the weekend it was a complete waste and I would actually get upset by it. As I got closer to the end of prep that completely changed and I didn't want to go out at all.
Once I got the show out the way I 'tried' to go back to how I was, but the more and more I went out the more and more I realized I didnt even enjoy it. I started realizing that if I didn't go out so much that I actually didnt care and tbh I was happier. Fast forward 18 months and i'm still the same. I do my own thing and do what makes me happy. Like you, I have my close friends which I enjoy going out with from time to time, but in reality I probably go out about 1 night every 2 months or so, if that and i'm a much happier person now than I was when I was chasing the next party every day.

[Reid456]

Turkey + lentils + brown rice + vegetables

Pumpkin/vanilla oats w/ cooked bananas + raisins + cinnamon PB

[Reid456]

Just got my professional shots back from my show. The lighting at the show was honestly pretty crappy, but I think some of the backstage shots came out decently. I'm not going to post them in here but if you want to see them click here

[Reid456]

OHP
3x warmup sets
1x5x90
1x3x100
1x1omx110 - 6
5x10x60

Dips
bw+15 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Weight is still around 153.4. I've been sticking to my macros decently, but since my weight has stayed so low I've been a little more loose recently. 50/325/190 is what I shoot for each day with a refeed of 45/435/180 once a week. Might be upping them again next week. Strength still hasn't really rebounded too much yet.

[Shazriki]

Maintaining weight AND strength not improving? Reduce cardio, or bump macros, or both. Don't be shy now.

[Reid456]

Maintaining weight AND strength not improving? Reduce cardio, or bump macros, or both. Don't be shy now.

Well I've got all the time in the world, no need to go faster than I need to. Just wanted to feel things out a little these first couple weeks. I think I'll try adding 25g CHO a week until I start gaining. Cardio I'm basically just trying to do 2x300kcal sessions a week. As minimal as it gets without taking it out, haha. It would be awesome to get up to 400g carbs and still gain slowly.

[Reid456]

5/3/1 M1W3 Deadlift

Deadlift
3x warmup sets
1x5x255
1x3x285
1x1omx320 - 6
5x10x170

Wide grip pullups
bw x 10, 11, 10, 10, 7[/QUOTE]

Wasn't a pretty set but 320x6 is fantastic for me at this weight (154). Should be some epic eats throughout this week as I have the week off from school. A much needed break.

[Reid456]

Food

baked pumpkin oatmeal


w/ bananas + raisins + syrup + chocolate sludge


double burritos!




double burgers!


CC + GY w/ blueberries + raspberries + cinnamon capn crunch


Chicken + broccoli + cheese + chocolate chips + sweet potato

[Reid456]

green pepper + onion + carrot + lentils + rice + chicken + soy sauce


apple cobbler



half of apple cobbler w/ choc sludge + PB + whipped topping

[The Solution]

Apple Cobbler
Please Recipe NAO!

[Reid456]

Second half of the apple cobbler for breakfast

apple cobbler w/ syrup + vanilla sludge in a shallow bit of milk

[Reid456]

Apple Cobbler
Please Recipe NAO!

It's actually an adaptation of a recipe that Frankdaddy gave me for his banana cobbler that he posted recently in MEN so credit goes to him, but here's what I did:

50g WW flour
50g white flour
cinnamon
1/2 cup Splenda
1tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

1 large egg
0.5 cup milk
1tsp vanilla extract

300g apple pie filling (no sugar added) or you could alternatively peel and core your own fresh apples

Combine wet and dry ingredients then pour into pie pan and then pour the apples on top of the mixture. The apple pie filling I used already had a bit of liquid in the can with it which is important because you want things to stay moist. If you used your own apples you could probably mix them around with applesauce and maybe cook them on a skillet for a little while to get them soft to get the same effect. Spinkle some cinnamon sugar on top of the mixture and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. Then I turned on the broiler and broiled it until it bubbled and was nice and browned on top (2 mins). I'll forward you the banana recipe.

[Reid456]

5/3/1 M1W3 Bench

Bench
3x warmup sets
1x5x120
1x3x140
1x1omx155 - 8
5x10x85

Pendlay rows
120x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Never thought I'd be happy to hit 155x8, but boy was I happy. Benching over my bodyweight for 8 reps is probably something I've never done before though I've benched far more weight before. I think I might've been able to push out one more rep but I'm trying to shy away from failure so early in the program. Just gotta keep pushing and hope my bench goes up faster than my weight. Speaking of which, woke up 152.2 today. It's a refeed today.

[bigryan03]

REALLY smart move not working to failure, especially on the sets where the program has you going for max reps. From experience you will burn out QUICK if you dont pay attention to recovery and pull the set short by a rep or when form breaks down a bit. Working to failure everyday, especially in the 1-5 rep range isn't something I would want to do.

[Reid456]

5/3/1 M1W2 Squat[/size]

Squat
3x warmup sets
1x5x210
1x3x240
1x1omx270 - 6
5x10x140

Smith Calf Raises
2pps + 5s x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Bodyweight PR for sure on squats. Slowly adding weight to calf raises. This marks the end of my first 5/3/1 cycle not counting deload week. I was only doing around 275x5 at the beginning of prep when I was weighing in the 170s.

Speaking of which, I'm a little over 3 weeks post contest and still only about one pound up. I definitely don't have that dryer contest look anymore but veins are sticking around so far and I'm starting to fill out again slowly. Shoulders are especially looking bigger now.

[Reid456]

Half Baked Froyo




Turkey + white rice + broccoli + lentil + egg stirfry


Banana cream pudding w/ toasted bread + granola + banana



Mini pizzas


Stone IPA

[Reid456]

Pepperoni + rice + lentil + turkey + cheese mixture


Blueberry + Blackberry + Raspberry cobbler


Berry cobbler w/ syrup + whipped topping


berry cobbler w/ blueberry xt + GY sludge