boot camp
saturday (tomorrow)
9am
2700 wycliff rd, raleigh
$free

[Edited on March 16, 2012 at 7:33 PM. Reason : twenty sixxx]

3/16/2012 7:31:27 PM

Yay! Everyone come! It's a lot of fun

And you get to stick your butt out like you are working hard for the $$$$

3/16/2012 7:35:59 PM

Ill be there, pull up & push up comp, winner gets a free can of diet Canada dry

3/16/2012 8:41:58 PM

wait wut

if we're playing for ginger ale then I will win by ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

3/16/2012 10:07:15 PM

I wanna come! I love Ginger ale! And cass and begonias, for that matter!

3/16/2012 10:31:12 PM

you should come next time you're in NC!

3/16/2012 10:39:56 PM

allergic reaction

that's all i have to say. i hate the sneaky ones where it's like, "HAHA you'll never figure out what you ate that's causing this!!!"

3/19/2012 8:16:35 AM

oh no! I hope it wasn't anything I cooked!

3/19/2012 8:38:00 AM

it wasn't!

i think it was the kale i had last night. it's naturally high in sulfites. i hadn't reacted to it much before but i hadn't had it in a while and then ate some last night. i was going to have some leftovers today for lunch but i switched it out.

i also had to throw out the sweet potato crumb cake i made because i was just sitting there eating it frozen. i need to make it again but use a muffin tin.

3/19/2012 9:06:39 AM

I had to switch my salads to the herb blend greens, and that helped a lot. Spinach used to be my go to but it definitely cause a reaction for me. Full of histamines

3/19/2012 9:37:06 AM

one of the enormous, ripped to shit dudes at my gym came up to me saturday after a squat set and said "great form on your squats man. very few here do them to that depth and ive seen you progressing in weights. keep up the good work dude." then turned around and walked off.

i weirdly appreciated that.

3/19/2012 9:56:13 AM

^that's awesome!

on an unrelated note, if you are newish to lifting and are unsure on how much or how many reps you can do, just ask someone for a spot. i've had to go jump behind someone who was stuck several times over the past few weeks... be safe when you lift.

3/19/2012 10:21:13 AM

^^That's cool. Of all the huge/ripped dudes at Rapid, I've never seen any of them squatting or deadlifting. I go 4x a week and not on set days, so I don't think I'm missing their lower body days. Bench bros are pretty common, I guess.

3/19/2012 10:29:31 AM

This is the kind of shit I have to resist at work.

Spring cutters assemble. Iron will must conquer appetite.

3/19/2012 12:07:18 PM

Haven't cheated on my diet since Feb 1...keep destroying it

3/19/2012 12:10:23 PM

lol I brought my sticky chocolate cake to work today to celebrate us being awarded a huge grant. I was proud of myself for not giving in and having some also

3/19/2012 2:28:49 PM

i've been playing around a lot with making desserts that are more on the healthy side so if i did need to bring something over to someone's house or to work, then i have something that wouldn't completely kill me if i had a small amount.

over the weekend i made vegan sweet potato coffee cake. i peeled and boiled the sweet potatoes and used whole wheat flour and organic sugar. that recipe in itself was pretty healthy to begin with - there wasn't much tweaking. for the "crumb" part, instead of butter i used a mashed banana and then just mixed in sugar and flour until it got "crumbly." i think when i make this again, i'm going to cook it in a muffin tin because the center did not cook well in a brownie pan (it tasted so good though when i stuck it in the freezer before deciding what i was going to do with it ) and i think i am also going to cut WAAAY back on the sugar in the crumb part and since bananas are naturally sweet. i've used date sugar before which works really well - i had run out otherwise i would have used that.

i brought some to begonias to try and she liked it. i just need to make some adjustments next time

[Edited on March 19, 2012 at 2:37 PM. Reason : dsfkdslkf]

3/19/2012 2:37:32 PM

Ok... Here we go: Started my 10week cut today. Weighed in this morning at 179lbs.

These photos are from last night, cold, after a weekend of binge eating and drinking. They are pretty embarrassing and look bad, but will be a testament to how getting lean can transform your body like crazy.

5'7". 179lbs.






Ended my strength and bulk phase with these circa maximal lifts last week:

Standing Overhead Press: 180lbs x 3reps
Dead Lift: 410 x 2 (conservative)
Bench Press: 255 x 4
Squat: 355 x 3

For the next week or two, I am going to reduce my carb intake and eat lighter. Choosing meat and vege's for meals. Only actively eat carbs around my training.

Training will be 5x a week, 5/3/1 program + 1 dynamic/power day. I am going to continue with my previous lifts and cut down the volume a bit. Adjusting as necessary.

I will weigh in and log my weight every morning. Adjusting my diet for the day based on what the scale says. I will take/post progress pictures about 3x a week. After 3 weeks, I will begin getting meticulous with my nutrition.

For some reference, these were my results last year ( 5'7''. 186lbs --> 161lbs in 10 weeks) :





[Edited on March 19, 2012 at 2:55 PM. Reason : ;]

3/19/2012 2:51:27 PM

Gotta ask...and this isn't a slight, because obviously you can get in shape like the 2nd set of pictures whenever you want to...but...

Why go back and forth? What's the point in getting big, then slimming down every year? Is it to achieve weightlifting goals? You do that during the winter when its not beach season...hit some personal goals, then get the beach body for the summer?

Obviously its easy for you to do since it basically is your job, but that would seem to be a pain in the ass (IMO) regardless. Do you ever plan on just staying one size at some point and not going back and forth?

Just curious...

3/19/2012 3:28:16 PM

the body doesn't want to build muscle and burn fat at the same time. bulking/cutting is the fastest way to add muscle.

the hormonal systems in our bodies are designed to keep us alive through famines, not to look good for vanity reasons.

3/19/2012 3:47:43 PM

First, I will admit with the set of pictures I intentionally let my belly relax forward and rounded my posture quite a bit. I intentionally positioned myself to look bad. Camera tricks to make the results even more substantial. My body fat is probably around 18-20%

I gained the weight for a handful of reasons... Mainly to support strength training. I wanted to hit 500lbs DL, 400 Squat, 300 Bench this year. I also had planned to hit 200lbs. I didn't acheive any of those goals. Got close with 465 DL, 380 Squat, 275 Bench. Body weight topped at about 183lbs.

My girlfriend also bakes the hell out of brownies, cookies, ice cream, cakes, etc. Literally, almost every night I pig out on some sort of sundae or dessert smorgasbord. That doesn't help body comp.

Personally, I like to not stress over details. Trying to keep a lean appearance while hitting my strength goals would have been very complicated, if not impossible.

3/19/2012 3:49:22 PM

Quote :

"bulking/cutting is the fastest way to add muscle."

I get that. But why keep doing it over and over again? Why would you rather bust your ass for 10 weeks to get that body every single year, when it appears you could keep up a less strict regimen to maintain it without going back and forth? Although he pretty much answered my question with this:

Quote :

"Mainly to support strength training. I wanted to hit 500lbs DL, 400 Squat, 300 Bench this year. "

Which gets me to my next question...do you keep doing this every year until you reach this goal? And if you do hit that goal eventually, do you raise the bar again and go for higher goals?

I get that we have different goals and mindsets. I would like to maintain a nice, lean body composition. You're always going to be extremely fit and healthy, but you still look for strength training goals and bulk and cut to do this. Just wondering if you think you'll ever get tired of doing that and just try to remain the way you look in your second set of pictures.

3/19/2012 4:37:39 PM

do people still eat ephedra by the handful? or did the heart stuff scare people off.

3/19/2012 4:53:45 PM

you can't even find it anymore. the government is way more scared of meth labs than consumers will be of ephedrine.

3/19/2012 5:31:41 PM

funny i started my cut day today too....i guess I should take some pics

Weight: 204.5
BF%: 16.8%


What i've eaten so far today

Breakfast:

2 egg beaters
slice turkey
shredded cheddar cheese
celery
4oz grilled chicken breast

mid morning:
protein shake w/skim milk

lunch:
4oz grilled chicken breast
0.5 cup steamed green peas

dinner:
bowl white chicken chili w/shredded cheddar cheese

protein shake w/skim milk


18g fat
75g carb
165g protein
1150 calories

gonna eat a salad later and some more chicken breast before I go to bed, but so far feel pretty good. Not even slightly hungry.


plan on dropping 10-15lbs in 6-8 weeks

3/19/2012 6:00:24 PM

^ good job on the diet so far. It looks like you're incorporating more veggies into your diet

3/19/2012 6:26:16 PM

thanks

i've adopted the 'replace all bread with celery' plan. So far making sandwiches has been difficult, but other than that I'm good to go

3/19/2012 7:07:59 PM

Have you thought about making sandwiches with the big lettuce (like they use at places like PF Changs for their lettuce wraps). You could always try that

3/19/2012 7:09:41 PM

and THAT is why i post here. Thanks!

3/19/2012 7:12:30 PM

Quote :

"Which gets me to my next question...do you keep doing this every year until you reach this goal? And if you do hit that goal eventually, do you raise the bar again and go for higher goals? I get that we have different goals and mindsets. I would like to maintain a nice, lean body composition. You're always going to be extremely fit and healthy, but you still look for strength training goals and bulk and cut to do this. Just wondering if you think you'll ever get tired of doing that and just try to remain the way you look in your second set of pictures."

Do you maintain a 6pack year round?

What are your numbers for the big lifts?

If you can maintain <12% body fat, while putting up big numbers then you are either: genetic freak, on anabolic steroids, or have been training at a high level for 5-10years.

Putting on significant levels of strength and muscle is metabolically and systemically taxing. Unless you are enhanced (steroids), then you will have to eat in a large calorie surplus to support heavy training. Given average genetics, you will ALWAYS gain fat while you gain muscle. Meticulously planning your diet, training and gaining very slow will mitigate that, but it will happen.

My leanness in the second set of pics is very hard to maintain year round, unless you want to do intermittent fasting or other modified diets. Like I said earlier, I don't like planning or watching what I eat. I follow a few rules of thumb to make sure I am within boundaries for my goals.

I think you'll be surprised how much more lean my next set of pics will look later this week. I'll be trimming the manfur and actually flexing/hold correct posture.

[Edited on March 19, 2012 at 8:58 PM. Reason : words]

3/19/2012 8:55:28 PM

Week by week comparison photos would be cool (unless you already planned to do that).

3/19/2012 9:00:35 PM

The plan is to do similar style shots every 3 days then create an animated gif of the transformation

3/19/2012 9:04:57 PM

Yes! I'm excited to see!

3/19/2012 9:15:32 PM

Thank you for trimming the manfur lol

3/19/2012 9:49:48 PM

MattJMM2 when I plateau out on my cutting phase i'll def be hitting you up for some professional advice. Kinda wanna just see how far I can get on my own though, so give me 2-3 weeks

3/19/2012 10:42:46 PM

^^ no way I like the man fur!

3/19/2012 10:43:34 PM

^^ Please do, my methods work! I've gone through a bunch of dieting styles and have picked out the most effective, IMO. With that said, it's all about adherence and compliance.... So I can help you plan something that works for you, your schedule, and life style.

I am thinking I can drop another quick 5lbs just by trimming my manfur

Down 3.2lbs since yesterday! Probably 75% water, but that's one of the effects from going from high carb to low.

Intake yesterday:

-1 pre workout protein shake. 1 scoop whey + 16oz of skim milk (41g of protein)
-1 post workout protein shake. 1 scoop whey + 16oz of skim milk (41g of protein)
- First meal, brunch: .5lb of steak with 1lb of green beans.
- Second meal, dinner: 4 tilipia filets, breaded. 3/4lb of mixed vegetables.

Supplements: 5grams creatine. 6grams fish oil. Multi-vitamin. Melatonin + ZMA + 5htp.

[Edited on March 20, 2012 at 6:19 AM. Reason : manfur]

3/20/2012 6:19:10 AM

Quote :

"Do you maintain a 6pack year round? What are your numbers for the big lifts?"

1. Yes

2. Haven't done a "big lift" in probably 5 years.

I feel like I'm asking a pretty simple question. At what point do you think you won't care about big lifts. Will you still be trying to bench/squat/deadlift as much as possible when you're 40? 50?

3/20/2012 6:36:32 AM

When will I stop training those lifts? Probably never.

When will I stop pushing my limit strength on them? Probably around 600lb DL, 495 Squat, 315 Bench. I want to compete in raw, drug free power lifting at least once.

Once I hit my strength goals, I am going to move away, but maintain them. Then go after easier stuff like endurance/medium distance speed.

3/20/2012 6:40:32 AM

Quote :

"- Second meal, dinner: 4 tilipia filets, breaded. 3/4lb of mixed vegetables."

holy cow that's a lot of tilipia

3/20/2012 8:37:04 AM

Quote :

"^^That's cool. Of all the huge/ripped dudes at Rapid, I've never seen any of them squatting or deadlifting. I go 4x a week and not on set days, so I don't think I'm missing their lower body days. Bench bros are pretty common, I guess."

yeah i'm pretty sure the la fitness i go to is kinda in bizzaro land in regards to what i read about most big box gyms.

the only bench bros seem to be the high school kids that come in about 4pm.

for instance, this morning, i went at 5am, it's my deadlift day.

there are two squat racks, one power rack... i ended up using the power rack mostly for space, as there was a group of 5 guys deadlifting (two of which played football for OSU, and are in their late 20s, still deadlifting in the 500s), another group of 2 guys deadlifting (these two usually do a lot of circuit work, and were doing 20 rep sets with 135 and jumping rope while the other one was lifting), me, and two guys doing oly lifting in between some of the other equipment using bars from a bench.. there were multiple benches open.

this place would be awesome if it had some bumper plates and was 18+

[Edited on March 20, 2012 at 9:22 AM. Reason : great success switching max weight set to mixed grip btw]

3/20/2012 9:20:25 AM

I stopped taking creative, been told its not recommended for cutting phases.

3/20/2012 9:41:40 AM

I don't ever stop taking creatine, I may cycle off for a week every few months

3/20/2012 9:47:40 AM

^^I'd stay on the creatine, then get off it 2 weeks before your cut ends.

It is only water weight that it may cause you to hold on to. You can drop water weight in a matter of days. You want to stay on it for the recovery and performance enhancement.

##

Crushed my work out today, although it is a deload week.

Dead lift: 175/215/280/305x5
12" Box Squat: 225 6x2 1min rest breaks. The bar was flying, plates rattling, my speed was noticeable up.
Reverse lunge to box step up: 25#DBS 2x10
Ab work

3/20/2012 10:14:55 AM

I gave up on deadlifting a long long time ago, and I recently stopped squatting and benching because they didn't fit my training regiment. In 3 months or so I'll add them back into my rotation once I stop making gains on the lifts I replaced them with.

3/20/2012 11:19:14 AM

You are doing DC training right?

Using hammer strength, smith and cable machines?

3/20/2012 11:24:29 AM

for bench I'm using hammer strength and dumbbells. I never did dumbbell work except for flyes, so I have plenty of room to make gains there. I wasn't making gains in the bench since I had benched so consistently over the years.

I never did deadlifts in the last 7-8 years. I don't think they have a purpose for a bodybuilder that does good mornings, hypers, and squats deep. It's not a volume exercise.

I knocked off squatting because I wasn't making gains and I felt like the cardiovascular taxation of the workout was dangerous. Squatting to near failure, pausing for 20 seconds for the weight on your back, squatting 3-4 more reps to near failure, pausing again, and going a few more reps to near failure seemed dangerous, and my legs didn't feel as taxed afterwards as they did from hack squats, leg press, and extensions. I also have more energy for doing hamstrings in the same day. Before switching to DC, I always did hamstrings on a separate day. I trimmed my rotation down to three days to cover the body so that I could hit each body part twice in a week.

I plan to go back to squatting at some point, but it will be when I am bulking and not making gains on the leg press. I'll probably drop the leg press and leg extensions for squats and walking lunges. My third exercise is going to continue to be hack squats.

3/20/2012 12:56:41 PM

Matt, a powerlifting friend of mine recommended cutting out the milk in protein shakes and using water instead.

Something about the body treating milk similar to alcohol and trying to process it first and it slowing protein absorption I THINK (could have misunderstood we were drinking). Ever heard anything like that?

Also, are you going to be fasting on your cut?

Also, try Nair i like it better than shaving/waxing.

3/20/2012 1:06:09 PM

get the laser hair removal, never think about it again

3/20/2012 1:08:36 PM

Nair smells SOO bad and can burn the skin so be careful if that's the route you go

3/20/2012 1:20:45 PM