Journey Through 2016

[Joshua H]

16 weeks post show

191lbs this am. +16lbs from show

today i will wrap last workout of week 8 in block 2 since offseason started. deloading this coming week. had an amazing week of training in that i hit 3 clean reps on all 4 of my 95% lifts this week! loving the strength returns. also getting my blood hormone biomarker labs done tomorrow to see where they are at 2 months post show.

pete and i have decided to drop out all dairy i cant handle other than selected greek yogurts, almond milk and a couple ice cream alternatives i do well with. my odd 5+ weight gain over 4 days and then sudden drop of 5lbs just as quick shows that my digestive system did not like the introduction to ice creams and cheeses in mild amounts during that time one bit. the gas, and trips to the rest room were not fun at all let me say lol!

looking forward to some burgers at slaters 50/50 tonight as its been far too long since i paid them a visit! have you seen their burger of the month! you need to!

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[The Solution]

Things I can't eat
Fish
Mushrooms
Oatmeal
Broccoli

cut them all. had bad bloating and indigestion. Not worth the pain, agony, and also crushing your intestinal system. Do what you gotta do brother.

[Joshua H]

Things I can't eat
Fish
Mushrooms
Oatmeal
Broccoli

cut them all.

yeah i guess we all built a little different indeed. those same foods you listed i eat almost every day and for sure every week, multiple times. fish may be my most consumed protein source besides eggs and grass fed beef. oats my primary carb besides rice and potatoes.

as a born and bread wisconsin cheesehead it kills me to have had to limit and now seemingly, cut out most all dairy (high lactose dairy foods). sucks sure but like you said......not at all worth crushing your GI system day in and day out. its not fun for those around you either lol!

[Joshua H]

17 weeks since show and now well into offseason. weight was 193 this morning. (18lbs up from show day)

I got my 16 week labs back this week and VERY happy with the improvements. my coach is equally as happy. thyroid and total t are both higher than they were before i started by cut last july. my bodyweight is the same as day 1 of cut but i am 3.5% leaner (8.5% now) and eating just about the same calorie intake i was at start of cutting as well. this week through today was a deload week and it felt great. tomorrow is a pure off day, just the cardio i get from work demands is all. tuesday my next 8 week mesocylce block begins. cannot wait!

last labs had my total T at 486ng/dl and now i am up to 845ng/dl so major improvement on the anabolic side of the house.

[Joshua H]

18 weeks post show.

was holding at 194-5 all week till yesterdays weigh in which had me at 192.6? today back to 194.6 so happy with that. up about 20lbsish since show weekend.

this first week on new cycle III is AMAZING! love the program, the volume and the attention to my weaknesses....arms! just nailing those all week multiple times now.

pete has bumped up my calories ranges to be more on the higher end to keep weight climbing up. now i am at:

3150kcal, 350c, 90f, 235p all days of the week. still doing my normal 4 meals per day every day as well.

feeling great, lifts going great, making progress. pics from yesterday morning below.

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[Joshua H]

20 weeks post show/into offseason.

193.6lbs this am. PR's in the gym best i have had even since pre dieting last july now.

pics from this am, fasted, pre lift, right out of bed.

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[The Solution]

Whats coach say?

[Joshua H]

he likes where i am at weight wise and body comp wise. he feels that with my hormones now back better then ever (T back in upper 800's) and thyroid hormones higher than pre contest prep levels were, we are sitting solid. max loads in gym improve by the week and he likes seeing the progressions consistently. has me holding with cardio to 2x a week 30 mins LISS and calorie range the same as last 2 weeks. i had travel for 4 days this week and ate less then normal some days so weight slipped a bit or about 2lbs. wants me to shoot for upper end of range we have set or 3200 kcals a day this coming week. see if we cant get back up to 195ish and hold for 2 weeks around there then look to bump up food intake some more.

[Elf]

Good work, dude. Are you on PEDs?

[Joshua H]

Good work, dude. Are you on PEDs?

depends on your definition of PEDS.....anabolics no, never touched them. dietary supplements yes indeed. appreciare the comments.

[Joshua H]

OK folks. Still here!

22 weeks into off-season and all is well! had a scare last week with both a tender knee and collar bone out of the blue on the same day with no reason for why. 4 days later pretty well gone and today no issues with either thank god! was getting worried it would be long lasting or something worse needing treatment etc......not the case.

This weeks avg had me at 198lbs but todays it was so nice to see the first over 200lb reading since June 2016!! I hit 200.8 this am but this was also after one heck of a cheat meal at a meat festival in santa ana as well so i am sure thats a bit inflated and acute. the pumps i had in the gym today were insane lol!

weekly avg for kcals was about 3100 with yesterday likely little over 4k id say at best estimate given the festival grub i had lol!

pics from this am right out of bed.

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coach has me holding as is with kcals at 3100 daily as he likes the small drift i have seen past 2 weeks. we feel ~3000 is likely my current maintenance intake (macros being considered of course) pending weight change or lack of this week coming up will dictate an increase or not.

[Joshua H]

not a ton to report on folks. another great week of training down. weight is 201 flat this morning. avg was 199.4 for the week. kcals avg 3155 for the week.

sending pete my info and will see what comes for the week ahead.

i go to sea for the first time in 16.5 months starting wednesday morning and lasting till the friday after. so back to lifting and eating on the ship 24/7 for the next week and a half. should not be too bad as we only have 1100 bodies on a ship normally outfitted with 4000 when the Marines are aboard.

sadly my gyms on the ship are still half shut down due to contractor weld work which really has me ticked off. my hands are tied but i mean come on people! a guy needs his gyms to be working when at sea!

peace all!

[The Solution]

just start squatting and benching your buddies on the ship. Easy does it right ?
Do you do a lot of bodyweight stuff? and how is your nutrition on the boats? Do they have a pretty good dining hall?

[Joshua H]

25 weeks of offseason!

week 8 wraps tomorrow of this 9 week cycle. then we have a deload week next week coming up.

weight this am was 203.2lbs. 28lbs up from show day last november 19th.

strength has NEVER been higher on any of my key lifts from military press, deads, bench, squat and pendlay row. loving it! every week is a PR in reps or weight or both in some cases!

was at sea for the past 10 days so that was a little rough but doable. food intake was fine, but activity level on cardio side way higher with more classes to lead 6x a week. dropped about 3lbs over that period but weights are impossible to gauge at sea because well.....were at sea! since thursday i been back on land and been getting steady 200-203 readings in AM.

pics below from this am right out of bed.

feeling good, training good. shoulders a little tender this week and right knee has odd click when in deep squats with or without load. feels like pateller tracking issue. seen this in my athletes many times. cant deny what i have seen so many times.

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[The Solution]

Sitting good in the offseason and eating good!