28 weeks after....still gaining!

Hello my friends and followers! I have some updates to present, some additions to announce and some pictures to post up. So let me get to it!

As of this weekend Sunday morning, 28 weeks post show day, I am......208lbs, 11.2% bodyfat. Thats 28lbs gained in 28 weeks at 5% bodyfat increase.

I like the fact that the scale is going up weekly now at a steady rate along the lines of my strength gains in the gym. They should for the most part but not always, be pretty linear in their progressions and thats just what I have been seeing here so far.

I am now eating around 275g protein a day, 375g carbs a day and 85g fats per day on lift days. Ony my 5th day off day (cardio only) I drop carbs a bit to 200g by taking smaller carb portions in the meals that would normally surround my workout. The rest is the same day in and day out all week.

The new supplements I added it as of today are:

HMB @ 3g a day (sustain more lean muscle during high volume training)

Tonalin CLA @ 3g a day for body composition support (more muscle, less fat)

Liver Support Blend @ 2 tablets a day (keep the liver in check due to higher protein diet)

Other then that let me throw up a pic from this weekends grubz:

http://instagram.com/p/mxmFEmOjwv/

DIY omega eggs, low fat cheese, turkey bacon omelet with sweet tater

"My Usual" @ Brian's 24, Triple Decker Club on Whole Grain Rye with Turkey Bacon

http://instagram.com/p/nHMHLcOj5-/

That be it for now folks......hope you all had a nice Easter weekend and spent some time with fam and friends! 

Peace out and take care!

A change up!

As of yesterday I am making a little change up as I move forward in my training off season. That change will be about 3 weeks long as I move into my next mesocycle of training. The major switch is going to be in volume increases. I have been doing about 240-26 sets a workout lately and will go up to 30ish sets now and that is with less muscle groups being hit per workout as well.

I am also going to a 4 days on 1 day off split routine vs the 1 on 1 off routine I had been with for the past 12 weeks. To assure I do not get overtrained I am dropping my cardio down to just 30-40 minutes once every 5th day or the day I take off from the gym. This will be mild intensity at most and more on the low end or about 130-140 beats a minute HR wise. More of a recovery modality then anything really.

My split will look like this:

day 1 chest abs
day 2 back/traps
day 3 arms/shoulders
day 4 legs/calves
day 5 off (cardio)
day 1 repeat....

I am still going to keep 1 staple prime multijoint powerlifter movement at the start of each workout to sustain my max strength from the past 12 weeks. It will look as follows:

all lifts below will be 8 progressive sets going from 10 reps to a 2 rep max with timed 2 minute rests between sets

day 1 flat bb bench press
day 2 bb deadlifts
day 3 seated db shoulder press
day 4 medium stance squats

My workouts will take about 90 minutes each which includes general and dynamic warm up time, movement prep time and pillar activation movements before every lift. I foam roll after back and leg days and do PNF band stretching after arms and chest days as well and that's factored in to total workout time.

I am adding in CLA (3g a day), HMB (3g a day) and a Liver Support supplement daily now as well to help combat the volume, added metabolic stress and sustain my general health overall. I am also going to "toy" with some BCAA pulsing between my meals over this cycle. Meaning I will take 5-10g doses of my Dymatize Recoup upon waking, pre/during lift, 2 hours after my post lift meal and again an hour before my final meal. I want to see what this does for my soreness and recovery rates.

Thats all folks. Take care and look for Sunday's pictures and stats check in!

Almost 27 weeks in!

We are back!! After almost a month (24 days) at sea we are back at long last! It went by very quick to be honest, much quicker then I thought 24 days on the water living on the carrier 24/7 would go anyway. Talk about your daily habits and routines! Groundhog day almost every day but to be frank, I like routine and structure, always have and its likely why I like this job and took the gig in the first place!

OK, OK, so where am I now and what's new right?? Let me tell ya......

As of today I have got all my updates and stats in since it was almost impossible to get good pics, an accurate weight or any body comp data at sea. As of this morning I am 203lbs and 11% bodyfat based on my regular scale and BIA handheld device. Pictures are below:

I lost about 3lbs while at sea which for me is not bad at all! Teaching 3-4 classes a day 6x a week and then my own workouts and half my meals from shakes/bars usually has me down 4-5lbs in just 2 weeks or less so this was a good maintaining period as I see it. My strength after 2 workouts back in my normal gym on my regular routine have only dropped a hair and thats simply because I was unable to do some of the lifts I normally would do on land while at sea. Should come right back after a week or two.

I will also note I am getting my quarterly dunk tank test done today to see where I truly lie on the body composition progress since Jan 4th this year. I then reference that to my BIA device to gauge the difference in the two for better precision on my own when I do weekly measures. I will post up my results when I have them.

I have added 2 new supplements to my daily regimine since we got back as well. This is on top of my year round supplement stack of Dymatize brand Creatine/Glutamine/Pursuit/Recoup.

An all in one multi vitamin-mineral support pack from BB.com which has gotten good reviews all round lately. Its purity tested and 3rd party validated to contain what the label says so that much I like! The Alpha is for some basic T support which can NEVER hurt a guys goals and objectives in and outside the gym so why not right?

My very first meal back on last the night we pulled in and got let off was at one of my favorite downtown 24 hour spots. The only 24 hour spot in downtown San Diego actually. Brians24 Bar and Grill. They all know me by first name I go so often. I got the "Giant Triple Decker Turkey Club" with house potatoes. See below.

This thing was just amazing let me leave it at that! A-Mazing!

Not really had that chance to hit the store yet to shop and fill my now empty cupboards and fridge. Really need to do that today so I can get back to the kitchen magic and my good DIY eats!

Hitting up lowey body deadlift pull day today. Did an epic upper body push day yesterday back at 24 hour Fitness Balboa and it rocked to be back in biz like normal!

I have my results in from todays quarterly dunk tank test and I had to post them up for all to see!
Down 5% bodyfat and yet up almost 15lbs lean muscle! That's 13 weeks of progress baby! Hell yes! With the gains in strength I have had in the big 3 lifts and these values here I think thats a clear sign to ride the tide and keep tucking exactly as I have been......because its working! Booya!

weigh in and pictures for 23 weeks

We got delayed one more day yet so I took the chance to get my pictures in along with my weigh in for my 23 weeks of offseason check point.

208.5lbs (+30.5lbs since day after my October 5th show)

Oh and once more! Do not forget to give me your vote to be on the November 2014 cover of Men's Health Magazine!

http://www.mhguysearch.com/entry/52

23 weeks off season update

So here I am Saturday the 15th, 2 days after I should have left for sea....

Did not know if I would get a post in this weekend at all but I guess I will since we are still dock side waiting to get the green light to pull out to sea for what should be just over 3 weeks(ish) at sea. My longest stint at sea yet since taking my current job as the commands Fitboss in July 2012. I love being at sea for any time at all because I get the chance to offer fitness classes and workshops 3-5x a day 7 days a week with no less then 30-40+ sailors at everyone of them! Its like 5 fold better then what I get in port on land so you can see why I like time at sea!

Until we hit the open waters though I have been able to squeeze in a few more homemade meals, get a few more workouts in at the gym vs on the ship (which is not easy when your ship is never standing still!) and a couple more nights of sleeping in my own bed without F18 Super Hornets taking off just a few levels above me.

As of this morning I was 209.5lbs. I as always take my pictures on Sunday mornings so I am going to try and get those in my stateroom on the ship tomorrow morning since we need to be on the ship by 6am I cant do them at home. I plan to get on the ship late tonight to be there already and avoid parking issues, traffic and other hassle I can do without!

My maxes from this past week (my last 3 workouts) HIIT yesterday, deadlift max day Thursday, bench press max effort day Wednesday and squat max effort day Tuesday. HIIT was Monday as well.

Same maxes as the week before except deadlift. I hit 450 solid Thursday and it felt good! I was able to add 1 more rep to my max on squat and bench press though so an improvement just the same baby!

Sadly I have no good pictures of any foods this week as most my meals accept breakfast and before bed were take out meals or grab n go meals from subway, the ships galley etc...dont want to hit the grocery store and do mass shopping with the plan to be at sea for 3 weeks. The one I do have is from what I thought was my last meal on land off the ship last night at Souplantation, see below:



Double duty green salad and veggies, veggie soup, lean ham, fat free honey mustard dressing and sourdough croutons.

Oh and one last important thing I need you all to do for me!

Please vote for me to be the next Men's Health Cover guy!! Do so here please! Make this dream of mine come true!

http://www.mhguysearch.com/entry/52/

22 weeks of offseason update

Here I am at 22 weeks offseason with new 1 rep maxes from just this week as you guys saw in my last post.

440 dead
255 bench
365 squat

Best lifts since well before my October 5th MPD contest took place. I am almost 30lbs up from the day of that show now to! I was 178 then and 207.4 as of this morning baby! Like them gainz!!

Pictures from this morning at 830am are posted below:

Just sent these stats and pictures off to Jason as well so I await his reply on any changes to my diet/supplementation plan in the coming week.

The last 2 days and today are my dynamic effort speed days with workouts that play out as follows:

Friday was speed box squats: 205x3 for 13 sets 3 with 1 minute breaks (56% of max)
Saturday was speed bench press: 170x3 for 13 sets with 1 minute breaks (66% of max)
Today is speed deadlifts: 260x3 for13 sets with 1 minute breaks (60% of max)

Now of course I did/do more then just whats listed for these workouts but the lift above is the goal move for the workout followed by 3-4 other movements of 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps for more volume based training and hypertrophy like training effects.

Dropped out all cardio except that I do on my rest day from lifting, still doing the HIIT training there for 30 mins and 30 mins only, not a minute more. Keeping most my efforts off the cardio and under the iron these days folks!

I just had to make sure I posted these images from one of my favorite local restaurants in downtown San Diego called Brian's 24. I am certainly what could be called a regular here as I go about 2-3x a week for like the past 4-5 weeks. I get pretty well the same thing around 4pm after work as my pre lift meal.

House taters with either lean ham slice or Canadian bacon with 2 eggs and 2 buttermilk pancakes. Its just $11 bucks and what I love is that I have my $250 card still be chipped away at that I won last month at the fundraiser event they put on so it keeps my wallet happy to!

With Canadian Bacon but I ate the pancakes already......opps!

 With lean ham steak

That is it for now folks. I will post again by Thursday night because as of Friday and then over almost a months time I will be out to sea with the command for work so posting, pics, updates will be hit and miss during that time. I hope to be able to do 1 post every Sunday at least to keep you all in the loop but picture updates will be hard since cell phone use and uploads are almost impossible.

Have a good Sunday everyone! Stay healthy, stay fit!

Some Gainz!!

OK its been a while I know.....I hate going so long without a post or update on things but I have been super busy with a number of things and training of course is one of them. This will be short and sweet since I have no tasty food pics to update from my recent eats or any progress pictures to add since my darn camera phone is not saving any pics I take with it! No idea why but it just started acting up recently thus the absence of any pictures this past weekend.

My weight on Sunday morning was 205lbs which is a nice little jump in weight from the week before and I am still holding the same today yet so this was not just an acute spike from food, diet, water etc as far as I can tell.

The past 3 workouts I had were max effort days I hit new PR's in every session!

Wednesday I pulled 440lbs in the deadlift using conventional stance (+10 since last)
Tuesday I benched 255lbs using touch and go tempo (+15 from last)
Monday I ass to grass squat 365 (+5 from last)

These are my near highest maxes I have ever had and some of the best progressions I have made for this many weeks consistently! I love it as you can imagine!

I have my macros bumped up per Jason's directive since last weekend. My intakes are now as follows:

405carbs (200 rest days)
100f
270p

As long as the strength and weight gains keep up like this I am going to ride out this tide for as long as I can!

Oh and I did post this image just the other day after the goods came in the mail from bodybuilding.com.

http://instagram.com/p/lMF2Lrujza/

Love me my Dymatize supplements! Been using these 2 products year round for about 2 years now and do not plan to change that anytime soon either. Cannot beat their flavor variety and the flavor authenticity either!

Peace out ya all! I hope to have pics up fro this Sunday's check in so stay with me as I get things rolling again for that and beyond.

Laterz!