"Carrier Chronicles of Fitness, The Fitboss Journey to MPD stage."

[Joshua H]

As I left off with in my older thread "2013 Journey to The MPD Stage" I will start afresh here with a new thread picking right up where I left off with my photoshoot this past weekend done I now look to take things in a forward direction and really apply myself in the fitness modeling industry as well as the Navy/Military population sector to find my niche within fitness/health/wellness and sports domains.

Some updates to make known to all who may be following me here are....

I just moved off the carrier I work for (USS Ronald Reagan) in Coronado, CA and found an apartment to live in about 20 minutes away. A great deal to! I had planned to stay on the ship during our time here but that became a pipe dream fast as its far too hard to live in the same exact place you work M-F 10 hours a day without a kitchen, stove, normal sized fridge, room of your own and all the other nice things that come with having your own pad. So as of today I got moved it to my apartment, excited as hell for that, still need to hit up grocery store and stock the fridge with all the goodies I have been hard pressed to find in a carrier galley or mess deck for the past 3 weeks.

I peaked at 5.8% bf and 176.8lb the morning of my shoot which was Sunday this past weekend. I have hired 3DMJ as my new coach's to work with my month to month on adding some more size before I shoot for the stage in October. I have my skype consult with Jeff Alberts on Saturday to discuss my plans for nutrition, cardio, training and supplements and I cannot wait for that!

As for my training, lets get one logged right now to start this posting off right.

Yesterday was back and chest so here she be.....

40 minutes mild pace backpacking (a class I lead for my command sailors) at 0700


630pm.....gym

rack deads super set with seated chest press machine
5x15,12,10,8

neutral grip chins super set with decline bb bench press
4x8 each

tbar rows super set with chest dips
4x10 each

rope face pulls super set with peck deck fly
3x15 each

crunch machine
3x25

Thats a wrap for yesterdays lift.......off to hit arms right now. Yeah buddy!

[Joshua H]

Yesterday was an of day with just 35 minutes cardio gauntet, 10 mins steady state curve treadmill, 20 minutes spin bike intervals, 10 minutes steady state curve treadmill. Part of a class I lead hence the specific structure of the cardio......

As of this morning I had my 1 hour skype consult with Jeff Alberts of 3DMJ and here is the game plan for now.

Carbs 225 daily all week
Protein 235 daily all week
Fats 70 daily all week

So no change be it off day or on day for lifting. I will be doing no voluntary cardio at all for the next month beyond the 5-6 hours per week I get through my job as a fitness specialist for the command. That is more than enough as is we feel so lets not add in more yet.

I am to add 20g of carbs per week every week to try and coax about half to 1 pound of weight gain per week. If the gains come faster then 1.5lbs/week I hold at the prior weeks intake. If the gains stop or drop, I add in 20 more grams that week (meaning a 40g bump that week). I am being given 1 refeed day per week on the weekend so that I hit 200g protein, 400g carbs and 70g fats. This way I start my week off on Monday with a full stock of energy, carbs and thyroid hormones to build my metabo back up to where it needs to be.

I am going from a 3 on 1 off routine to a 2 on 1 off 2 on 2 off split (M,T-TH,F) upper/lower split routine with M and T being power days and Th, Fri being strength days.

The whole idea is to keep volume, exercise and reps consistent but add weight every week in all compound lifts in ranges of 5% a week on average. Assistance moves can be swapped out as I please when I please. Compound lifts are set up for a purpose and are not to be changed until I am told.

I was 179.5lbs this morning fasted and nude so up 1lb from last week even after going from 2400 kcals to 2700kcals this week with last weeks cheat meal on top of it.

More to come later folks! Thats all for now...peace!

[Joshua H]

Workout #1 is in the books as designed by 3DMJ trainer Jeff Roberts. Today was lower body strength, here she be.

Squats: 4x6 at 245lbs (2 warm up sets of 15 at lighter weight)
45 Degree Hyper: 4x8 with 25lbs
Angled Calf Press: 3x12 with 90lbs
Ab Crunch Machine: 3x15 with 135lbs

I also had 1 hour of loaded backpacking today a couple hours before this as part of a fitness class I lead. Couple hours before that I lead a FEP group (fitness enhancement program) for the command which is part hands on, part stand back and lead. Thus the lower volume on strength days.

Carbs back up as well and I was feeling it to! Felt great to have more energy coming back as we begin reverse dieting this week.

Sunday morning I was 176lbs even and 6% via BIA. My pics from the photoshoot should be done and ready for posting tomorrow I am told....cannot wait!!

[Joshua H]

Today and tomorrow are just cardio only. 40 minutes mild steady state stepmill first thing in the AM. Gotta rest up big time as I have an 8-10 hour, 15-20 mile custom group GORUCK Challenge event on Friday for our command (35 person team) lead my special forces cadre from the GORUCK organization. Its a taste of special ops training simulations while wearing a 30lb ruck sack and hiking for long hours, long distance and while doing obstacles as a team. The idea is to foster team, cohesion, group-think, comradeship among complete strangers etc. The whole shabang! We have men and women, younger and older, former Marines, advanced fitness types and some raw rookies alike in our group. Should be interesting indeed!

That being the case I am resting up tomorrow and Thursday to be ready to go for our start at 0600 on Friday morning. Its gonna be a brutal day indeed by its also going to be fun as hell getting just a small taste of what special ops guys like seals, green beret's, army rangers and marine marcops go through for weeks and months on end to earn their ranks and distinguished ranks in the military armed forces.

[Xandoz]

Any updates?

[Joshua H]

148908148909148910

These are 3 of the pictures from my April 7th shoot. Got more coming.

I have had 1 really jacked up week or 2 of training since last week Tuesday pretty much! Just jacked up let me say!

Tuesday-Thursday I took off from the gym to rest up for the GoRuck Challenge we had planned for our command on Friday last week. Long story short this was a 26 person team from our ships command who complete a 11 hour, 17 mile hike with 30lb backpacks on the whole time while doing drills lead by a special forces operative. Sprints, sand crawls, bear crawls, lunging up and down soccer fields, push ups, planks, overhead squats with bags overhead, buddy carries etc. We also have to carry a 100lb log and 50lb log as a group as well a agreed upon team weight item of 35lbs.

Safe to say that that night and all weekend I was 100% fu&^*ing shot! My lower body was trashed, upper body marked up with scaps, cuts, bruises and rash marks. The worst part was and still is the posterior side of my knee caps and arches of my feet. They are still as sore and tender if not worse then Saturday morning when I could barely walk. I still struggle with stairs up or down....and yes I work on a 8 level aircraftcarrier so go figure that out!

Leg workouts have been so-so at best while upper body has been fine. I took the whole weekend off to just recoop from the shit I had been through Friday and I think today is my first day back to 100% energy, sleep and restfulness......despite the knees and feet of course.

The experience was priceless and amazing, unlike anything I have ever done before in my life but......I would not do it again let me say that as well.

I was so sore and tired and fatigued from Fridays evolution that all I could do (despite only putting down a little over 2000 calories the whole day) was chug a blended whey, banana, oats, pb shake and hit the hay by 10pm. Food was not the priority nor did it even sound that great at the time.....sleep did!

The next day (woke up at 6am???!) I ate like a god damn bear however. I could not seem to silence the hunger pangs in my stomach for more then a couple hours Saturday and even most of Sunday as well. Its like a delayed boost in appetite from the event or something!?

My weight even took a weird bounce from 176 last week Sunday to 183 this week Sunday morning under same conditions, scale, time etc. I imagine some inflammation and water retention, Thursday and Saturday carb loads had to play into that as well.

I have not been back on my normal and newly devised plan from Jeff Alberts of 3DMJ since Monday last week not counting today's upper body workout which went really well. Yesterday was just 35 minute spinning from a class I teach. And no it was not fun at all with my knees so tender......thank god for Advil Liquid Caps!

Tomorrow I am set to do legs and I intend to give it a go but if my knees hurt to the extent its just being stupid to keep going I will call it off. Not happy with how much this 1 day event has altered my training at whats almost 6 days post event!

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/905432_10151348336451790_1521738399_o.jpghttps://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/905432_10151348336451790_1521738399_o.jpg

[Joshua H]

148911148912148913
148914148915

[Joshua H]

Yesterday's cardio lower body hypertrophy workout:

35 minutes intro spin class I taught in the AM.....knees killed by 10 minutes in and stayed a bit tender till afternoon, not cool! MRI Monday morning wont come soon enough!

630pm workout:

traditional deadlifts.....(f'd up and thought the plan had ALL exercise set at 10-12 reps for 3 work sets when in fact only deadlifts were set for 4-6 reps at 4 sets.....FML!

225x12 for 3 sets

wide stance hack squats to parallel
25 and 45 per side for 3x12

prone leg curls
3x12 at 90lbs

standing calf press machine
3x12 @ 135lbs

abench machine crunch
2x15

bench reverse crunch
2x15

pnf stretching, foam rolling, done!

Today was just 35 minutes of intro spin class again this AM, left knee still pissy and sore, right knee a bit better today but still being a bitch on any staircase up or down.

Piece out ya'all! Have a good weekend!

[Joshua H]

Yesterday was just 35 minutes cardio once more first thing in the AM......managed to hammer out a gauntlet version of cardio as my knees could take it......right knee was the bitchy one this time, not the left as it was Friday for some reason....??

5 minute stepper, 5 minute stepmill, 10 minute recumbent, 10 minute treadmill incline walk, 5 minute upper body ergometer. 350 calories total.

The rest of the day was spent chilling out at farmers market, found the whole foods closest to my place and scoped that out. Picked up my comp cards from Home Depot and they turned out great! Going to start sending them out tomorrow prior to our carriers 2 week departure for open water trials this Wednesday morning through the 15th when we gets back in port.

I had some Ethiopioan food for the first time ever last night at my roomies strong urge and so I went with it. Got some veggie combo platter thing with traditional injera bread/wrap type thing. The meal was great no doubt, I loved it actually. Spicy, flavorful and different then any other kind of middle eastern food I have had before. Sadly about 3-4 hours later my gut just did not like what was passing through......I got bloated and gassy as all hell! This only got worse over the next couple hours so much so that I bypassed my last meal of the night and hit the hey at about 1030pm on a Saturday night just to give the shit a chance to pass. Not sure what caused it but darn sure glad it was a off day from the gym and not something I ate pre lift or that would have been real bad! I will be more cautious with any kind of new ethnic foods next time in that smaller portions might be a wise choice to gauge my readiness for such cuisine.

Today we get back to biz with the weights with upper body day 1. Already got my AM cardio done with, 35 minutes stepper/bike/tread combo. Knees still sore and tight but a little better in general but still not close to normal. MRI tomorrow morning......fingers crossed!

Today is my re-feed/cheat MEAL day in which I get to hit 400g carbs, drop fats down to 60 and lower the protein to 200g.

Wanted to hit up a local Mexican Burrito joint all week that some co workers were raving about with this giant 3lb "Ghetto Burrito" they have. However with last nights digestive revolt I am not so sure a Burrito let alone a 3 pounder is really in my best interest anymore....

Now apple pancakes seem to be playing with my head this morning for who knows what reason? I'm Jones-ing for The Original Pancake House's Apple Bake Pancake pretty bad as write this post so perhaps thats what's up later today as well!

[Joshua H]

May be the one and only chance I get to log so here goes!

Out on the carrier on the waters now with spotty net reception all day every day, not been able to log till now.

Been a odd week with no normal gym access but rather the ships gyms (outfitted by yours truely) but with 3500 sailors and 6 gyms the size of most peoples living rooms it gets tight quick....all the time. Thank god for TRX straps and A frames because that has been my foundation workout outside of bench press, squat and deadlift this past week. Likely will be this week as well. Cardio has been good with teaching 5, 30 minute express spin classes each morning M-F. My knees have been better since starting the Naproxen but they both still stiff as shit and painful during the night which bothers me knowing they still that tender when meds ware off.

Had a bad ass moster size brunch on the ship yesterday morning (they put out a hell of a spread for being a carrier!) for my weekly cheat/carb up and loved every bit of it. The command is sure I have a tapeworm as they could not fathom how a 180lb guy like me can eat 6 plates of food and still keep like such a string bean.

Taking today 100% off with no cardio or weights to let the knees rest. Had my assistant CFL lead spin today as she is eager to teach some classes herself so this was a shot for her to take the front seat and have at it.

181lbs and 6.2% as of yesterday AM's check in. No pics as I only have my stateroom to use as private place to hit them and my stateroom mate is ill so he was in there all day, never got a chance to get my shots!

Thats all for now folks! Have a good week!

[Joshua H]

After 14 days out at sea I amback at last! (Got back Wednesday night late actually....but none the less, back on dry land and some normal routines of life thank god! Not being able to make a single meal outside of homemade blender shakes gets old fast let me tell you. I get two pretty well balanced meals form the ships officer's galley each day as well so I make do but its far from ideal of course.

Lifting and training the on the ship while at sea is a bit different to as the ship is well....moving all the time and even a small wave can make squats and deads and even bench press very different then on stable ground I found! I still hit all my workouts, cardio sessions during the 2 week ordeal so no harm done to the grand scheme of things.

Weight yesterday AM was 178 so only 1 pound gain since starting with Jeff Alberts of 3DMJ April 7th which is really kind of disappointing right now as I should be up 3-4lbs right now coming off a 14 week diet to peak for my photo shoot I did back on the 6th. As off Monday this week Jeff put me at thge following new macros:

280 carbs (410 carb day)
230 protein
70 fat

I think my cardio frequency has been killing my gains from work demands at the fitness classes I teach daily. 5 spin classes a week for 45 minutes plus others is not likely something a hardgainer ecto like me needs while trying to gain size. Lucky for me that is changing now. I found a sailor on our ship who wants to teach spin really bad and is certified to do so. She will be tkaing over as of Monday for all spin classes. I also have a guy who is CrossFit level 2 certified so he is taking the reins on those 4 classes per week for me. That leaves me to lead the command daily "fat camp" groups, 2x a week TRX workouts and 30 minute abs classes just 2x a week. Most of those are denominational vs participatory so I don't really burn tons of calories in them as the class leader. This drop in excess cardio starting in the coming week should really help things or so I hope anyway. Will see soon!

Already went to town in the kitchen and whipped up 5 different "Chef Bob" inspired baked goods from his endless list and picture sets of wonderful recipes he comes up with. Made 4 different kinds of protein cake loaves yesterday and knocked out one of them post lift yesterday and it was killer! Only just begun to feed my baking frenzy now that I am back home with full kitchen access at long last!

Got today off work thanks to CO's word to the command for a having a successful underway, taking Monday as a leave day myself as well so that's a sweet 4 day weekend for this guy which is already begun as of this writing. The weekend has already and still contains seeing some new movies (no pain no gain, iron man, after earth) getting a sports massage, trying 2 local restaurants I been dieing to try and and review for my yelp.com blog and of course 2 workouts to rock out at my normal gym finally!

Lastly is my Sunday carb up which has many, many good eats planned out already. Cant wait!

Peace out ya'll!

[Joshua H]

Some new shots taken yesterday morning after finally being back in my own room with my own camera.

150070

150071

150073


Doing all that spin class crap for the past 2-3 weeks 5x a week might have some payoff....lol!

[Joshua H]

From Saturday morning. 4 weeks after starting my "off season" although not a bodybuilder like off season where you let things kinda fly as far as body comp goes.......keeping it real of course for MPD but even that aside....working with Jeff Alberts of team 3dmj has been helpful but still rough as I have actually lost a bit of weight since starting with him. Was 177.6 in these pics. This is more then likely due to 2 of the last 4 weeks being on the carrier with limited eating times, food sources and food prep means. That plus my teaching 4-5 fitness classes 5-6x a week does not help much either for an ecto like myself.

Since we got back last Wednesday night I have been able to get back to a much better eating schedule and my classes have died way down while we are in port to just 2 a day 5x a week. I even had a big carb up meal this Sunday night at a downtown San Diego breakfast joint which was 7, yes 7 specialty flavored pancakes. 4.2lbs worth is what the waitress told me the chef weighed the plate in at.....go figure...

Finished them all in 20 minutes without really even rushing through them. I was just hungry as shit after my lift Sunday and not happy with the lost weight nor my pictures from that morning. So I sank my sorrows in a pile of pancakes (vs a bottle I guess).

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z210/oregonpanthers/IMAG1186-1_zps8a6ceeeb.jpg (http://s192.photobucket.com/user/oregonpanthers/media/IMAG1186-1_zps8a6ceeeb.jpg.html)

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z210/oregonpanthers/IMAG1185-1_zpsb95dd825.jpg (http://s192.photobucket.com/user/oregonpanthers/media/IMAG1185-1_zpsb95dd825.jpg.html)

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z210/oregonpanthers/IMAG1180-2_zps7a177c6c.jpg (http://s192.photobucket.com/user/oregonpanthers/media/IMAG1180-2_zps7a177c6c.jpg.html)

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z210/oregonpanthers/IMAG1190-1_zpsdf7ff989.jpg (http://s192.photobucket.com/user/oregonpanthers/media/IMAG1190-1_zpsdf7ff989.jpg.html)

As of Monday Jeff set my macros to 300 carb, 230 protein, 70 fats, Sunday refeed day I go 400 carb, 200 protein and 70 fats.

[Joshua H]

Picking it back up again fresh with a link to my last blog entry. I will also be posting here from now on with more or less the same details and daily summaries of what the blog has to say but what the hell, more viewers = more feedback right? Please comment at will folks, happy to get input or explain why I do things how I do them.

I am 5 weeks out today from The ANBF Southern CA HPN Championships in Brea, CA as of today to out things in perspective. Really going for the debut show this time! Nothing in the way and nothing to stop me other then an act of god!

http://fitbossfoodandfitness.blogspot.com/2013/08/days-23-and-24.html

[Joshua H]

Back at it again for a new 3 day cycle after yesterdays off day. Lets hop to it for Sundays events....

We begin with legs! Got to try out the workout at Golds Point Loma, CA today where I found the gym pretty well dead at 545 when I arrived which was sweet as I had the gym more or less to myself and did not have to wait for a single machine the whole session! Score!

Also did 30 mins on keiser spin bike for 30 mins this morning before breakfast at home, mild intensity effort (HR 140 tops)

Legs Attack:

pnf stretch, dynamic movements.....

seated keiser calf press
5x30,25,20,15,15

bb squats
6 reps a set: 135, 225, 245, 275, 275

hammer horizonal leg press
2x20

prone horizontal leg press machine
2x12

standing calf press
3x15

prone leg curls
3x15

leg extensions
3x15

Light stretching outside the gym post lift.....done!

Daily Grub:

Post workout meal (2) at Souplantation, monster veggie salad with walden farms ceasar dressing, crushed pretzels. Also had a wheybolic 60 vanilla whey shake on the side.
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z210/oregonpanthers/Food%20Stuff/san%20Diego%20eats/IMAG1693_zpsa1006ce8.jpg (http://s192.photobucket.com/user/oregonpanthers/media/Food%20Stuff/san%20Diego%20eats/IMAG1693_zpsa1006ce8.jpg.html)


Part of tonight's final meal (3)...........cedar plank grilled tilapia fillets!
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z210/oregonpanthers/Food%20Stuff/Make%20it%20myself/IMAG1695_zps97cad03f.jpg (http://s192.photobucket.com/user/oregonpanthers/media/Food%20Stuff/Make%20it%20myself/IMAG1695_zps97cad03f.jpg.html)


Grabbed a shot of my recent re-stock of supplements I have been using for about 3 weeks now and will use through the show on Sept 21st.
156939

[Joshua H]

Yesterday (Monday) was chest and back day so lets have it!!

Golds Gym Point Loma, CA

545pm....

dynamic warn ups, cuff matrix, band stretching...

paramount incline chest press (love this damn thing!)
5x6 reps

smith rack wide pull ups
5x10 with isometric pause at top

paramount flat chest press
3x6

rack narrow chins
3x10 with isometric pause at top

hammer wide chest press
3x12-8

hammer low row
3x12-8

cable cross overs
3x12

hammer high row
3x12

seated pec deck
2x15

kneeling cable/rope face pulls
2x15

730pm....done and out!


Meals:

5 whole eggs
2 scoops eas lean 15

8 oz 99% groun chicken
2 tbsp npb
small garden salad

8 oz tilapia
2 tbsp ff sour cream
1 whole egg
5 small corn tortillas
chopped greens

large garden salad at souplantation buffet w/ walden farms dressing
2 scoops cellucor whey
10 small corn tortillas

12 oz ff plain gy
2 tbsp npb
1 cup unsweet almond milk


As of this morning my 4th day check in has me at 188lbs even and 8.7%. Day by day baby!!

[Joshua H]

So with this review I have now decided to go back to......almost what I was doing prior to LGIF in that I will be doing 5 meals a day every 3.5-4 hours. My macro breakdown now is 220c, 90f, 265p. Its 200kcals down from my last drop but mind you I have added in almost 0 cardio beyond what I get through work teaching group x and small group fitness classes 4-5x a week. All I may do is 30 minute HIIT sessions 1-2x a week when I really feel up to it. Diet is taking care of the rest as far as getting lean goes.


Today's workout went down like this:

Legs:

Mission Rancho 24 Hour Fitness: 6pm-730pm

pillar prep, hip matrix, pnf band stretch....

sumo deads: 225x6, 275x6, 275x6, 315x5, 315x5, 335x3, 335x3, 335x3, 225x10
horizontal leg press: (close stance) 195lbx12 (4 sets)
standing calf press machine: 95lbx20 (4 sets)
ab crunch machine: 4x20
leg extensions: 1x30
seated leg curls: 1x35


Daily Grub:
900
6 scoops EAS Lean 15

1200
8 oz lean sirloin steak
2 tbsp cashew butter
normandy blend veggies

1545
8 oz lean bison patties
5 soft corn mini tortillas
sauteed mushrooms

1945
1.5 scoops cellucor whey whipped vanilla
4 soft corn mini tortillas
2 potato buns
large garden salad with walden farms dressing

2300
2 scoops cellucor strawberry whey
2 cups 30 calorie unsweet vanilla almond milk
2 tbsp gnc super flax meal

As of this weekend I will be 4 weeks out from show day! I am as excited as ever to FINALLY be getting back on stage after a 5 year hiatus with many clients being coached to the stage but not setting foot up there myself.......been too long as it is......time to do work!

[Joshua H]

Getting down to the wire now folks! I am growing more and more excited by the day as the show grows ever closer!

My contest prep plan for peaking is pretty mild as it stands now in that the extremes many go to for bodybuilding are not warranted for MPD as well as the fact that half the "tricks" many competitors employ are pure BS and don't have any real merit in the first place. Tactics like:

drastic water cutting
salt loading/cutting
huge carb loads
junk food binges
red wine shots
herbal diuretics

Seen it all many times before (even tried a few of them myself yes...) and watched most fail miserably or give less then mild results at very best. I prefer to use and stick to what got my to where I am in the many weeks and months leading up to the contest vs trying to pull some magic trick last minute.......the body hates last minute abrupt tricks of any kind and it will fight you for it to!

Layne Norton taught me a very important lesson about this using hard nosed science and physiology to explain how and why most the above "tricks" fail 99% of the time for men and women alike. He talked about La Chatelier's Principle and how that applies to water/salt balance, carbohydrate/glycogen storage levels etc......using basic physiology as it applies to drug free athletes it made perfect since to me why these tricks do not and cannot work well for someone trying to look and feel their best on stage in front of 1000's of people while sitting at 4-7% bodyfat with 90% of your skin exposed for just a few minutes to a panel of judges........when I say it like that it almost makes me wonder why ANYONE would EVER want to try and pull some hopeless and unfounded trick on the body in hopes of gaining the extra 5% at the risk of losing the other 95%???

So with that said this is my game plan from today through Saturday end of show.

Today/Tomorrow (Tuesday/Wednesday)

Training-
last 2 hard training days, lower today then upper tomorrow to allow for legs to be 100% Saturday
2 exercises per muscle group, 1 compound, 1 assistance, 3-4 sets each
pyramid sets 15 reps down to 5 reps stopping 1 rep shy of failure each set
slow 2-1-2 tempo for all movements (not getting hurt now!)
fasted AM cardio 30 minutes mild intensity 130-150 HR

Diet:
Only carbs all day both days are from veggies and salad greens and a 14 oz raw weight yam (then baked) eaten post workout.
Protein higher at 60 grams a meal for all 5 of my daily meals from lean either albacore tuna, egg whites, fat free, plain greek yogurt or whey isolate.
Fats are coming only from my barleans fish oil pills at about 12 grams a day.
Water is at 2 gallons per day or a bit more
Salt being added to all meals
My total daily intake for these 2 days will be about 1900-2000kcals per day.

Thursday and Friday:

Training-
40 minutes non fasted LISS cardio, mild effort at 130-135 HR
Foam rolling and PNF stretching

Diet-
Meals exactly the same both days
5 meals with-
40g protein from either egg whites, whey isolate or plain chicken
60g carbs from unsalted brown rice cakes
2g fish oils from pill form
Water intake stays high at about 2 gallons per day
No salt added to any meals

Saturday-
TBD as it all depends on how I feel and look that morning after the prior days effects really set in. I may add more carbs, keep them the same, drop them down, add salt, drop salt etc.....it depends. I will have all the food items, supplements and goodies I need with me on the drive up to Brea, CA just in case however.

Drug testing starts at 9am and goes till noon, athlete check in is at 1230 until 2 when the athlete rules meeting begins. The show starts at 3pm sharp. I plan to be on the road with my 2 buddies coming up with me by 8am Saturday. Its a 90 minute drive which is not bad and perhaps a good time to really calm down and focus myself on the show and myself, not anyone or anything else.

I am begging a work friend to come along as he is awesome with a camera and does amazing pictures of all kinds! I offered to pay his round trip gas and admission ticket to come up and get pics of the show and more after the show for me. Asking him to give up most his Saturday 90 mins away is a big favor I understand that so I cross my fingers he accepts my offer!

I will have pics regardless on my phone and my digital camera and hopefully from the contest promoter as well (most have DVD's to buy from the show) and those I will post up for you all to see!

So........with that all laid out I dont think I will post again until day of the show or the day after to give you all the full story on what happend and how it all went down. Until then its time to apply all this stuff here to myself and see it through to the end and let the judges score as they will.

Game on folks!

[Joshua H]

I rarely just post a link up to another thread/blog of mine but this one has so many images and links I have to so that you can see everything I want to be seen in the posting. Please click below to go right to my blog and see how my MPD debut went yesterday. And PLEASE leave any comments or feedback you may have to offer me! Leave such comments right here in this thread please.


http://fitbossfoodandfitness.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-big-day-has-come-and-gone.html

[Joshua H]

Day after....back to biz!

1 day post contest and its back to the grindstone baby! 13 days out today from show #2 on Oct 5th right smack in my own backyard via the NPC Border States Classic.

Here I will be doing the Mens Physique Novice class. Going to be a step up for sure from what I saw at the last contest held by the NPC here in SD at the same venue just over a month ago now. Gotta bring the A game and that started last night with legs session and continued into today with upper body pull day....take a look...

40 minutes LISS at 8am this morning, half walking at incline, half on elliptical, HR between 130-140


645pm....right after seeing the new documentary movie Generation Iron which IMO was very good but not Pumping Iron Quality. Just me....

Back and Biceps: 1 minute rest between all sets

Pillar Prep, Dynamic Movements.....

BW Neutral Pull Ups-
4x6

hammer underhand pull down/row-
4x8 at 2 plates a side

life fitness seated underhand horizontal row machine-
4x10 at 145lbs

hammer high row-
4x12 at 2 plates a side

db pull overs across bench-
2x15 at 50lbs

incline bench db curls-
4x12 at 27.5's + 1 drop set of 15 at 17.5's

fascia stretching....foam rolling, 5 mins mile bike cardio....done!

I will also note that as of today through Oct 5th show day (and perhaps longer) I am now working with a 3rd eye........none other than Jason Theobald of Scooby Prep to help me peak as best as possible for my next show and make the right jump off point in the first several months of my offseason after the show.

Right now starting today my macros look like this per his settings:

260p/180c(on)130c(off)/35f over 5-6 meals per day. I refeed on leg days with 245p/250c/30f

My training through the Wednesday before the show will go right back to what it was before this last show.

3x/wk cardio via fasted LISS style HR at 130-140 range

3 on 1 off split of legs/upper pull/upper push/off

I will continue using my homemade thermo-stack combo of:

600mg green tea extract*
15mg yohimbine HCL
81mg asprin
400mg caffeine 50/50 from pill and *black coffee

I take these 20 minutes pre LISS cardio day *(also taken 20 mins pre lift)

The only other additions to my prior supplement stack are:

100mg R-ALA with my 3 carb meals, breakfast, pre and post lift
3g USPLabs D-apartic acid with breakfast daily
158517
4000 IU VD daily with any meal (continued)
1 multivitamin tab at breakfast daily (continued)
2g fish oil at every meal (continued)
50mg zinc with 1 meal daily (continued)
200mcg GTF chromium with a 1 carb meal daily (continued)

Thats a wrap for today folks.......12 days to go tomorrow....peace!!

[Joshua H]

11 days to go now....

today was day 3 of the split and here is what she looked like:

6pm: upper body push day- all 60 second timed rest between sets

seated db press: 5x6 @ 45's
flat db press: 5x5 @ 65's
decline medium grip bb press: 4x8 @ 135lbs
bw tricep dips: 3x6
incline db fly ss w/ rear peck deck fly: 3x15 @ 35's / 75lbs
flat db tricep kick outs: 3x12 @ 25's
triple drop set on machine lateral raises: 80x12,65x8,50x8,35x8
8 minutes post lift stepmill w/ HR at 135ish

90 minute workout with shocking amount of energy and output tonight. not bad at all for being on a no more then 2100kcals a day lately! i'll take it!

post lift meal for the day....and past 3 days matter of fact.....

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z210/oregonpanthers/Food%20Stuff/Make%20it%20myself/IMAG1879_zpsba669643.jpg (http://s192.photobucket.com/user/oregonpanthers/media/Food%20Stuff/Make%20it%20myself/IMAG1879_zpsba669643.jpg.html)

[Joshua H]

As of tomorrow I will be at just 10 days out from my 2nd and final contest of the fall season and as most in the sport come to call....the end of formal "season" which typically coincides with the Mr. Olympia contest at the end of September and as anyone reading this likely knows.....takes place this very weekend starting up Thursday night and commencing on Sunday afternoon. Of course other contests do and will take place through years end in all organizations but they tend to become few and far between and less frequent in smaller cities. As for me it wont much matter. I have set plans to bust my ass until late March to put on some much needed size and thickness to my storky 6'2'' frame. I will have the helpful eye of Jason Theobald of Scooby Prep assisting me with my diet and nutrition to assure things keep on clicking the whole time so I see good things happening come October 6th and beyond for darn sure!

Yesterday I did a early morning 30 minutes HIT spin class which I teach for the command. No workout later on, just rest and recovery.

Today was 40 minutes gauntlet cardio in the AM with HR between 130-145 via 10 minutes of each:
incline treadmill walk
woodway curve jog
recumbent bike
stepmill
Time goes by way faster when you break it up back to back like that on a different unit each 10 mins I swear!

Later on around 630 it was time for LEGS and here is what we got done!

smith squats, close stance- 75 sec rest between all sets
2x15 @ 1 plate a side
2x12 @ 1plate + 10 a side
2x10 @ 1 plate + 25 a side
2x8 @ 2 plate a side
2x6 @ 2 plate + 10 a side
1x20 @ 1 plate a side

hamstring hypers with 45lb plate across chest
3x15

bw standing calf press
4x30

assisted chin machine- single press downs
3x12 per leg at 150, 160, 170lbs (each set increase in weight)

swiss ball crunch series:
3x20 front
2x20 side
2x20 reverse crunch

TUT cybex leg extension/seated leg curl rep out series:
3x30 reps each back to back with 30 sec rest between each exercise (burn baby burn!!)

7 minutes cybex arc trainer with HR at 145-150

Done!

Today was refeed day so I got a whole whopping 210g carbs today! I savored every last extra bit of oats and yam I got pre and post lift let me say that much!

Calories overall are now just under 2000 per day except refeed days. Getting down and dirty now at the very end. Gotta stay strong and pull through it. Only time I get truly hunger is after meal 1 lately. Outside that I have been pretty good really.

Also.....have a new player in my supplement regime now.....trying out shark liver oils at 2g a day starting today onward. Research seems promising after a in depth talk I had with the lead researcher and company CEO. Testing myself before I push or promote anything to anyone else, military or otherwise. Will see...

158592

[Joshua H]

Pull indeed! Thats just what I did today in the gym with today's upper body pull session at the North Island Warehouse gym this afternoon. I love working out at this gym not only for a good change up but also because its got a bad ass set up of equipment, no AC and its pretty well wide open on the inside making movement pretty easy and it feels HUGE in there.

181.5lbs this morning. Down 1 pound the day after a refeed......did not see that coming! Oh well, thats how my body decided to respond so be it. Jason sees this and he tells me where to go. Enough said.

The change of enviroment helped as did the change in workout time today....crazy good energy and awesome workout overall. A little change up always helps!

Here we go.....8am, 33 minutes cardio via triplet series....11 mins each lifefitness elliptical, matrix treadmill hill walk, lifefitness upright bike. HR around 145-150 the whole time.

345-5pm...back and biceps workout

60 seconds rest between all sets

hammer low row:
4x20 @ 1 plate + 25 per side

seated cable close grip low rows:
4x16 @ 140lbs

wide grip lat pull downs:
4x12 @ 130lbs

hammer high row:
4x10 @ 2 plates per side

hammer underhand pull down:
3x8 @ 2 plates per side

incline db biceps curls:
4x8 @ 30's
drop set to failure with 20's

6 minutes stepmill at level 13......done!

Thats a wrap for today gang......more to come tomorrow with upper body push day! My favorite day of the 3 day split!

Just 3 workouts left after tomorrows! Then its just peaking time again baby!

[Joshua H]

So let me first get yesterdays workout out down before heading into the final week (AKA peak week)...

Yesterday I did not do cardio which was VERY nice to get off from......saved up the energy and put it all into my afternoon upper body push workout session. See below...

230pm-4pm

incline bb bench press
4x8 @ 35 per aide

seated bb shoulder press
4x6 @ 25 per side

hammer incline press
4x8 @ 45+5 per side

hammer shoulder press
4x6 @ 45+10 per side

flat hammer chest press
1x failure at 35lb per side

hammer 180 ground based high pull
1x failure at 45lb per side

hammer seated tricep push downs
4x10 @ 2 plates per side

incline db fly superset with incline rear delt fly
2x15 each @ 30's and 10's respectively

bb jump shrugs
3x15 @ 1 plate + 35 per side

decline sit ups superset with flat db tricep kick outs
3x15 each with bw only and 25's respectively


More volume again yes......love getting a real good pump going as I feel it helps with fullness and hardness as the show gets closer. Still going heavy as you can see but I also add in more sets and more exercises to really hit as many angles as I can and get some major blood flow in the muscles the whole workout.

Jason has sent me my peak week plan with every last detail outlined for me. Went to the grocery store last night and stocked up on EVERYTHING I will need for today through Saturday night. Want to be....need to be 100% ready to do business and that starts with preparations and pre-planning, leaving nothing to chance.

Today I weighed in and found myself at 185.0.....up 4lbs from yesterday...?? Not sure why or how that is but the same thing happened from Monday to Tuesday this week as well with no reason for why? I lost it is all 2 days later but still? I used the same scale, same time, same final meal the night before, no clothes worn etc.....all controlled for. Oh well....not going to freak out one bit.....the body does odd things when its being stressed this much so you never can quite predict what it will do day to day.

All I got going today is 30 minutes of HIIT on the stepmill coming up later today which should be just dandy on 110g carbs for the day. Only 1 more HIIT session to do before the show and my last legs workout will be tomorrow as well to allow 100% recovery in the legs and avoid any water retention in them as well.

Thats all for this weekend gang. I will post again on Monday with updates!

[Joshua H]

I know I said I would wait till Monday to update but today leg workout was so awesome I had to get it down now! Its the last leg workout I will do till post show next weekend so this one had to count big!

181.2 today....down 3.8lbs in a day......WTF??

30 mins MISS cardio via stepmill at 8am...

3pm...LEGS!

deficit deadlifts:
135x12
225x10
275x8
295x6

hammer v squat, reverse position:
3x12 @ 2 plates + 35 a side

cybex hack squat medium stance:
3x8 @ 2 plates a side

bb back squats w/ 4 sec ecc and 2 sec iso hold at bottom
4x3 @ 2 plates a side

hoist horizontal leg press, wide stance:
3x15 speed reps @ 4 plates

seated calf press:
3x12 @ 2 plates + drop set on seated straight leg calf press machine 1x25 reps

leg ext superset w/ prone leg curls
3x25 reps each short of failure @ 70lbs each

6 minute recumbent bike cool down...pnf stretch....done!!

Carbs as of today have been dropped to 120g today through Wednesday. Going to finish out week as follows:

Will do 20 mins LISS post workout each day as well..... back+traps monday / chest+abs tuesday / shoulders+arms wednesday / thursday 40 mins LISS only / pose, pose, pose Friday

I will throw up my peak plans later this week as I get closer to show day. For now all I have done is add a dash of sea salt to every meal and keeping my water at 2 gallons a day. Still taking 5g creatine post lift each day as well. Dropping out yohimbine HCL tomorrow, all fake sweetners and shakes go out Thursday as well.

[Joshua H]

Back day baby! 4 days left (after today)......

181.2lbs this AM, holding steady......kcals at 1830ish

30 mins stepmill MISS cardio this AM (HR around 145-150)

Then at 3pm we nailed it as follows.......


-reverse grip pull downs: 3x15 @ 140lbs

-hammer seated row machine: 4x12 @ 2 plates a side

-hammer iso-lateral pulldowns: 3x10 @ 1 plate + 35 a side

-low back hypers w/ 35lb plate across chest: 3x15

-hammer iso-lateral high row: 3x15 @ 1 plate + 25 per side

-smith iso-pause shrugs: 4x15 @ 1 plate + 2 10's a side

Energy a little low today between cardio's end and workout start. Downed 3, yes 3 keurig jet-fuel brand k-cups plus my green tea tab to get a pick me up going. Did the trick to!

Its going to get harder then next 3 days before it gets easier I know this.....gotta suck it up and make it happen!

[Joshua H]

Well with today's chest session out of the way all I have left in the gym for the lifting is shoulders and arms tomorrow afternoon.....before that happens, lets roll out what took place today....

3-430pm

bb flat bench press
5x8 @ 135

hammer iso-lateral wide chest press
5x8 @ 1 plate + 35 a side

hammer flat iso-lateral chest press
4x10 @ 45 a side

freemotion cable cross overs, high to low
4x13 @ 90lb stack plate each handle

freemotion kneeling cable crunch
3x20 @ 140lbs stack pin 1 side

post lift LISS cardio: HR 130-135
6 minutes stepmill + 140 minutes incline treadmill walk

done!!

Game plan for remainder of week is as follows:

Wednesday- Arms/20 mins post lift LISS, pull 30g carbs from normal 120g/daily intake
Thursday-MISS cardio AM, incline treadmill walking, drop added salt out 100%
Friday-No cardio, no lifting, pose, spray tan, carb up (225g for the day from oats), 1 gallon water.
Saturday-TBD pending AM weight and pics review from Jason. Check in at 8am, judging starts at 11am with my MPD novice class on about 12 noon I predict.

[Joshua H]

Today was indeed the last lift......until after the show that is which to be honest will be Monday after show.....a deload week mind you. Just 3 workouts that week and no cardio at all! Give the body some much needed recovery time!

But as for today....this how arms day panned out!

230pm-400pm

half kneeling smith machine shoulder press
5x6 @ 25 a side

cybex seated shoulder press machine 5x drop set
70-60-50-40-30lbs for 6 reps per drop.....burn baby burn!!

cybex seated lateral raise machine
3x15 @ 50lbs

seated db curls @ 30's superset with back supported tricep cable press downs @ 70lbs
4x10 each
1x16-17 rep drop set each with 20's and 50lbs respectively

burn out set preacher curl machine for 20 reps
burn out set tricep extension machine for 20 reps
burn out set for rear delt peck fly machine for 20 reps

21 minutes post lift LISS cardio via 7 minutes each treadmill walking, stepmill and elliptical

That was all she wrote ladies and gentleman! No more lifting period till Monday next week! All I have left training wise is 40 minutes MISS cardio tomorrow which will be incline hill walking on the tread while listening to some PSR podcast. Gonna hit some solid PNF stretching after that to keep loose as well.

As of today (after meeting with company owner, lead researcher last week) have some new players in my supplement game from now forward as well. I am my own little case study to see how well these products work as I have not taken anything like them before. The research is VERY promising however! They are located (US HQ) in Carlsbad, CA and the company is.....
Nutrilys Del Mar, Inc - Marine-Based Supplements

159204


I do not work for or get paid a cent from this company so this is a honest straight forward trial run for me with these items based on the science I was shown and read up on. If it works for me great, if not ok fine. I will let the results speak for themselves. Look at the site and see for yourself what you think. I will keep you all posted to my findings with these products.

Diet for the day looked like this:

meal 1
16 oz all egg whites
1 pack frozen birds eye pepper stir fry
700mg green tea extract tab

meal 2
8 oz baked swai with mrs dash
Romain salad with sliced peppers and onions, red wine dressing
12 oz black coffee
700mg green tea extract tab

meal 3 (post lift)
100g old fashion oats
2 scoops cellucor whey
5g creatine

meal 4
same as meal 2

meal 5
same as meal 2

Also had 6g fish oils with various meals, multi with breakfast and 1 tab each of the 3 new products shown above.

Still adding a pinch of sea salt to all meals through tonight. I drop all added salt out tomorrow but keep water intake at 2 gallons yet.

That a wrap folks! More to come tomorrow!

[Joshua H]

So here I sit writing the last blog post prior to the big day.......my first MPD contest in the NPC and my 2nd MPD contest ever over the past 2 weeks. Its the last time I will compete until I know more about my work/command/ships schedule to be in port or out to sea which then dictates my ability to do a local show and prep for it they way I need to. So after this its offseason until more is known about that.

Today no workout, no cardio, no gym anything. Got my spray tan done, got my show day foods cooked, measured, packed and ready. Been chugging my water as needed and all is falling into place. I feel as though I am getting drier and drier by the hour as the Xpel keeps water moving through me, salt keeps pushing it way out of me and carbs keep coming in meal by meal.

I was 176.4 this AM which is down 4lbs exactly from yesterday in which I had a whopping 50 grams carbs all day. Lost lots of salt/water weight already. Pics below are from this AM around 7am.....had not spray tanned yet so I am darker then this now trust me.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uOV30D8A8e...1+day+back.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-daG0zwCLrx...+day+front.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8Jk4VIx9Yo...1+day+left.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lvLyyNCzmy...+day+right.jpg


Today my meals look like this: Jason's goal is to have me hit macros today of 225p/270c/50f

meals 1 and 2:
1 cup oats and 1 cup egg whites

meals 3 and 4
1 cup oats and 5 oz baked Alaskan cod

meal 5
1 cup oats and 1 cup egg whites

2g fish oils, 200mg r-ala, 100mcg gtf chromium, sprinkle cinnamon with every meal as well. Took 4 Xpel tabs in AM, midday and 4 more in evening pre bed.

I am also making sure to drink 12 oz water with every meal to hit my water mark by 10pm tonight. After that I will have only 6 oz fluid from black coffee with my 1st two meals tomorrow morning of which will be as follows: I will take 4 more Xpel tabs in the AM with breakfast and then 4 more after pre-judge and my 2nd meal is in me....about 2pmish I figure.

800am and 1130am: 10oz plain hashbrown potatoes, 5 oz grilled sirloin steak, 2 tbsp cashew butter
(show starts at 11am with Novice MPD being the 7th division to go up so I predict about 1230 Ill be going on stage.

About 20 minutes before going on stage my pump up plan as Jason has it laid out is.....
1 level scoop Gatorade powder with 10 oz water and 1/8 tsp sea salt sipped on until gone or I feel like I had enough just before going on stage pumped up and hopefully nice and vascular/full/dry. I may be able to bypass this part 100% pending what Jason thinks of my pictures I send him 30 minutes before going on stage.....if he says I am full enough......we play it safe and stay as is, no changes or pump up tactic needed.

Then at 2pmish I have a photo shoot taking place not far from the venue with a co worker and another friend of mine also in MPD novice class. Its a local park(Balboa) amphitheater which will make for some sweet outdoor Sunny SD pictures and backgrounds!

From there on out till night show......its just a repeat of the AM meals as I feel hungry, 6-8oz water with each meal and just passing the time till my class comes up again to strut my stuff on stage and hopefully do some damage in the novice MPD class in my debut NPC show! As of now all the work is done. Nothing more I can do on my end but ride this out and leave it in the judges hands. Either way or no matter then outcome.....I am going to have fun and enjoy this experience big time!

I will post the outcomes, pics and all on Sunday evening after all is said and done including an epic post show day brunch buffet victory meal with myself and my 5 co-workers who also in this show with me! Pics of that to be included as well!

PEACE OUT ALL! GO TIME!

[Joshua H]

Show number 2 has come and it has gone!

As of yesterday I have now completed my 2nd show in 2 weeks and this time as predicted, had a much stronger and bigger set of competition ahead of me. With 12 guys in MPD novice class alone and over 40 in the show it was clear this was where the big dogs come to play.

I took 7th of out 12 and at a raspy 6'2'' and 171lbs upon waking that morning........I still feel I was coming in smaller then I needed to be muscle mass wise to really stand out as a top place finisher but top 5 was my goal to place and walk away with some hardware.....sadly not the case. I am however very very happy with my peak for this show! I could not have asked for a better day of staying lean, dry, full and overall feeling pretty good I have to say!

These were taken the morning of right after waking up.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-naEwZxMSOEY/UlI0X-yjwoI/AAAAAAAACak/ys5AAK54SwM/s320/show+day+am+l.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--mpXlKyNnsA/UlI0ZdWYHbI/AAAAAAAACas/GcRE1qhDapg/s320/show+day+am+r.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZRCgpPPuAvk/UlI0ah_3cpI/AAAAAAAACa0/-HS6O4DM8xs/s320/show+day+am+b.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vR6yKKcNJtg/UlI0e1_5jtI/AAAAAAAACa8/2SA0DYBRgr4/s320/show+day+am+f.jpg

After 2 meals and another spray tan later in the day these were my next sets of pics right after pre judge was done with.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hIfRCUEM3PI/UlI0x7U3KjI/AAAAAAAACbI/v6FVFerJIMc/s320/selfie+1.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bMTw9mOnIrg/UlI0x8HISaI/AAAAAAAACbE/epGkXt4YOBo/s320/selfie+2.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V98Nvcr0cUA/UlI0yFWyHLI/AAAAAAAACbM/OlMp0RTj8zk/s320/t+and+me.jpg

The guy on the right is Terrance, a client of mine from the carrier I worked with the last month of his prep.......and here he gets 6th place right ahead of me! Go figure! I was happy as hell for him either way for his his first ever show period to!

This shot was taken 3 hours later after another meal and from my cellphone just before starting my outdoor park shoot. More pro grade photos of that to come later but this is just a sample I am very happy with.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivJyjx4nI7U/UlI1eu_6jPI/AAAAAAAACbg/onsuij5y0-Y/s320/stair+shot.jpg
Balboa Park, San Diego, CA

Here is one last shot from after finals with my group from the carrier command who all competed and did amazing in their 1st or 2nd ever fitness competitions.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IZCKHgkG0ow/UlI12jGJFII/AAAAAAAACbo/0ON8_S3lvbk/s320/group+shot.jpg

What a darn good looking group if I may say so! I worked with some of these folks since Jan through show day and some for the final month only. Either way it was a memorable journey that I wont soon forget.

My diet for the day went down like this:

meal 1, 2: 8am and1130am: 10 oz hashbrown taters, 5 oz steak, 2 tbsp cashew butter, 4 xpel tabs and 10 oz black coffee

meal 3 @ 3pm: same as meal 1 but 1 cup egg whites vs the steak, 8 oz black coffee

meal 4 @ 630pm: 10 oz hashbrown tater and 5 oz steak with 8 oz water

meal 5 @ 10pm.......no cheat meal yet with my photoshoot the next day (today) so I just went with larger portions of foods I knew I could handle but still craved big time!

10 oz mashed sweet tater
4 tbsp pb2
2 cups egg whites
stevia, cocoa, cinnamon

In bed by 1230 and dead tired! I was whipped for sure by days end let me tell ya. All in all it was an AWESOME experience! I am happy to have now done MPD in two organizations and so close together to get a good feel for it. I will say right here and now that if I had to pick bodybuilding or MPD to compete in again though......I would take bodybuilding pretty much hands down. Nothing at all against MPD what so ever. I simply like the formality and greater demand of bodybuilding poses, the 12 mandatory poses, the flexing, the quarter turns etc. MPD is just a series of set quick quarter turns and thats it, your done and off stage. Plus the fact that our legs are 100% covered kills me since thats my #1 body part to sport off and always has been. Yet I get no chance to show that with the board shorts thing going as it is. It is what it is and thats how the game is played but this is just my take on MPD vs bodybuilding when it comes to the stage aspects alone.

As of this writing I have already been back to the gym for my deload week start but that I will get to tomorrow when I post up my days "goodies" and my first two workouts after the show as well as my game plan from here onward. You wont want to miss it!

[Joshua H]

Now 2 days after show day and the end of contest dieting/preparations its safe to say I am in full swing of my post season goals and objectives. As I said before in earlier blog posts, I am taking this week to deload......now what the hell exactly do I mean by a deload week? Let me explain just that....

I use the same exact routine I did prior to the show as far and sets, reps, exercise selection, order, tempo etc...the big variable is that this week I only train to near failure, leaving 1-2 reps in the tank on every single set. Nothing gets taken to pure muscle failure. I also have reduced my cardio to no more than 15 minutes MISS (mild intensity steady state) post lift. I do no cardio on my rest days this week so I can focus on 100% recovery and allow my CNS the full week to reboot and come back supercharged next week when I go full throttle with my normal train to failure heavy weight based program.

Before I jump into what I did yesterday and today let me throw some shots up of yesterdays "grub goodies" as promised:

Breakfast, 8am was a quick easy oatmeal + pb2 + cookies n cream cellcucor whey + unsweet almond milk blended with ice.....again the photoshoot so had to play it safe.

Right after at 12 noon this bad boy went down at........DZ Akins Deli, San Diego, CA
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z210/oregonpanthers/Food%20Stuff/IMAG2020_zps6ff4d730.jpg
The "Freeser" Sandwich

4pm I had my first ever taste of.....Weinerschnitzel's, Kearny Mesa, CA
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z210/oregonpanthers/Food%20Stuff/IMAG2022_zps7f373187.jpg
Pastrami on Rye with Swiss

8pm I had my 2nd ever visit and much awaited return trip to.....Voltero's, Kearney Mesa, CA
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z210/oregonpanthers/Food%20Stuff/IMAG2024_zps36d5c67c.jpg
1 Philly Beef Cheesesteak + 1 Grilled Eggplant Cheesesteak

Before bed at 1130 it was a simple BSN Syntha-6 shake with unsweet almond milk and ice.
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z210/oregonpanthers/Food%20Stuff/IMAG1714_zpsf2bbec49.jpg

So that was it for my post show " grub goodies" as today Jason Theobald has me back on my 3 weeks out (what I was using 3 weeks out from show) macro intakes where he plans to reverse diet me back to and above pre contest dieting levels gradually so that I stay pretty darn lean from now throughout all post season (10% or less is our agreed goal).

I found that by having these 3 smaller cheat meals like this was MUCH easier on my system then 1 enormous meal would have been (learned the hard way in past show binges that although tasty as hell and orgasmic in the short term....... the aftermath for me is miserable and godawful!!) so by doing this I had no gas, no bloat, no heart burn, no headache, no queasy gut or anything. Just a smile on my face and shit loads of veins all over my body all damn day.....no joke!

OK....sooooo lets get to the nuts and bolts of the post season shall we? I bold and underline the term post season because I do not at all like the way people think of off season which typically conjures up the concepts of eating what you want, as much as you want, getting soft, getting fat, dropping out cardio and letting ones self go a bit too far or perhaps way too far in some cases. All pointless, worthless, and unhealthy and a waste of time come the next contest you decide to diet down for. Why add 20-30lbs of weight if half or more is just pure fat weight to come off later? I would rather stay leaner and be more conservative by adding around 15lbs total with 5-6 of that being fat to come off later on. It just seems much more logical to me to be healthier, smarter and feel better by doing the later then what traditionally gets boasted with mainstream misguided off season ideas.

As of this morning (Tuesday) I was 179.8lbs. I am near my set point weight of about 180 but will see what happens by this weekend, a full week post show to see how my body levels out and sits at that time to really gauge where I am at.

I am back at 2100 kcals a day with a macro split of 260p/180c/35f on workout days with the only change being a drop to 130c on rest days. As my weight changes over the weeks to come Jason and I will work together to increase my intakes to slowly building up my metabolism again as high as we can to help add the needed muscle size I need to be ready for my next contest with a better, more improved physique.

Ok...now....workouts.....lets see them shall we??

Yesterday (Sunday) legs at 10am......

6 min stationary bike warm up, hip mobz, DM/

squats:
135x15/2 sets
155x12/2 sets
185x10/2 sets

hamstring hypers w/25lb plate across chest:
4x12

standing calf press:
4x15 @ 75lb plate stack

kneeling cable crunch:
3x15

bench leg raises:
3x15

leg extensions s.s. with prone leg curls
3x20 reps each @ 70lbs each

15 minutes post lift stationary bike MISS



Today (Monday) upper body push at 3pm....

6 minute stationary bike warm up, shoulder mobz, DM/

hammer strength pull over machine:
3x15 @ 150lbs

incline bb bench:
4x8 @ 125lbs

hammer shoulder press:
4x12 @ 30lb a side

seated machine medium grip chest press:
3x10 @ 100lbs

ez bar upright bb rows:
3x10 @ 80lbs

hammer seated dip machine:
4x8 @ 1 plate + 35 per side

cable vbar press downs:
3x15 @ 15RM

15 minutes post lift stationary bike MISS.


I am going to leave it with that right there folks. The blog entry is longer then it needs to be as is. That's all for today! Peace!

[tammyp]

are you increasing cals more from here? that is a really low number for someone of your height and body structure. I would shoot for more like 2800.

[Joshua H]

Yes that is the plan. Jason Theobald is reverse dieting me from here up pending each weeks weight changes I send him. Starting this Saturday he will tweak my calories and macros progressively upward to maximize my metabolism and get gains coming back on. This week being a deload week I am not training nearly as all out as I have been and my cardio is 1/4 of what it was the past 4 weeks as well so going super high on cals right away likely not needed just yet.

[Joshua H]

Ok so now midway through the deloading week lets recap yesterday and then summarize today's game plans shall we?

Yesterday I was day 3 of 3 in the split, upper body pull day....here we be..

230pm: 6 minute stationary bike warm up, DM, cuff series.....

Machine Pull Overs:
2x15 @ 145lbs

Hammer UH Pull Downs:
4x8 @ 2 plates a side

Hammer High Row:
4x10 @ 1 plate + 25 a side

Rack Pulls from above the knee:
225x10
275x10(4 sets)

Supine Narrow BW Chin Ups:
3x8

Hammer Preacher Curls
4x8 @ 1 plate + 2, 10's

Rope Cable Curls:
3x15 @ 15RM

17 minutes stationary bike MISS post lift.



Today was simple...30 minutes MISS via an outdoor run I took my sailors on today.

I also made a nice little trek off base today to grab lunch at a place I have been oogling for months now! Barrio Star in San Diego, CA. I got all this for $1.50 after discount applied. (AmazonLocal) For my needs this made for 1 delicious and amazing meal to fuel me through my 4 fitness classes I taught today for work.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fuTrsnn_Qbg/UlYbVdk0__I/AAAAAAAACcI/IrXnc7uu80c/s320/power+b.jpg
Power Breakfast

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-69T4NuX4JBk/UlYbXUtMpOI/AAAAAAAACcQ/73G5YKnNrF8/s320/power+b+2.jpg
Power Breakfast Burrito

On another fun little note, I did have these bad boys waiting for me when I got home today and that made my day! Little some-some I got via a contact I made at the contest venue vendor booth area this weekend. This is why Quest just plain rules in both products and customer service.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xEX8sAJ6s68/UlYaiSJYvNI/AAAAAAAACcA/srSoCEE9EBU/s320/quest.jpg
More to come tomorrow gang!

[Joshua H]

Short and sweet today folks, not much time....

Legs at 6pm...........
6 min stationary bike warm up, hip mobz, DM/

squats:135x16/2 sets155x13/2 sets185x11/2 sets

seated calf press:4x15 @ 45 + 10lb plate

hamstring hypers w/25lb plate across chest:4x12

life fitness crunch machine:3x15

bench leg raises:3x15

leg extensions s.s. with prone leg curls3x20 reps each @ 70lbs each

15 minutes post lift stationary bike MISS

Post-Lift grubs for the day...... http://instagram.com/p/fT4RmVOj5k/

[Joshua H]

Long week indeed! Lots to do, lots to get done, many deadlines to hit my today at work this week. Manged to knock off each one however so I guess that makes for a productive week indeed! Wrapped up the work week with a killer upper body push day as follows:

230pm:

6 minute stationary bike warm up, DM, cuff series, pillar prep,

pull over machine:
2x15 @ 145

incline bb bench:
135x6 / 4 sets

hammer shoulder press:
35 a side x12 / 4 sets

seated hammer tricep press down:
1 plate + 35 a side x 8 reps / 4 sets

ez bar upright rows:
80x12 / 3 sets

cable rope tricep extensions:
3x15 @ 15RM

pull over machine:
2x15 @ 145

15 minutes stationary bike MISS post lift.

As of today's workout now that I have my stock of Cellucor goodies.......have started to employ this pre-during-post workout supplement protocol

10 minutes pre lift (~120) minutes post whole food meal) - 1 scoop Cellucor C4
after last rep of lifting, just before MISS cardio - 1 scoop each Cellucor BCAA & Creatine
within 5 minutes post cardio - 1 scoop Cellucor Cor Performance whey

30 minutes after that its 30g worth of complete proteins from any source I choose along with 100-120g mixed source carbs of choice. I try and keep fats to under 12g in this meal as well.

Weight as of this morning was 177.0lbs. I am actually just +1 pound what I weighed the night before the show. Not freaking out or anything but hoping to see my weight begin to climb back up with calories back to 2200ish and cardio greatly reduced since the past month.

No lift or cardio at all planned for tomorrow as part of deload week. So I will post again Sunday night ladies and gents! Have a good weekend all!

PS.....Todays post lift GRUBS! http://instagram.com/p/fWFrkmuj9w/

[Joshua H]

Please look here for my next post in series....

http://fitbossfoodandfitness.blogspot.com/2013/10/travel-family-and-food.html

[Joshua H]

Update can be seen right here. Lost has happend over the past 14 weeks since my last/first MPD contest on Oct 5th. Please see my blog as well in my signature for daily/weekly updates in training, diet, supplements, HRT matters. Trying to get back to normal posting here as well.

http://forums.rxmuscle.com/showthread.php?124213-First-timer-starting-with-HRT