snagency’s BodyBlog

Got a little experimental last night..
(oh, that sounds kinda freaky huh? lol)
Thinking about dietary issues again, planning out my remaining carb-up days to prepare for the final week; trying to figure the best way to keep the leaning-out process going on, yet wanting to add a bit of mass if possible in this short timeframe.
And all the sudden it hit me: since using AnabolicPump with lower carb intake (@25g) forces lipolysis, thus almost like keeping the body in ketosis (only muscles remain full of glycogen), could I not combine the two approaches on carb days — dose AP at pre & post w/o meals with lower carbs, then have a single large hi-carb meal as last meal of day (with P-Slin) as in keto diet?? (rather than carbing up thruout day at 4-5 meals.)
Why do this? Well, the whole idea of a carb meal at night in keto is to hyperactivate the thyroid for optimal fat-burning and boost leptin levels. Now, in keto fromat this is done with a straight carb meal (i.e. sweet potato, oatmeal, banana, broccoli, no protein sources - this forces the thyroid output to increase as well as fills the muscles with glycogen). The "no protein" part would be altered now, because using P-Slin prior to this meal one would want to utilize protein-synthesis to the fullest. But again, the advantage of doing one large carb meal over several smaller meals would be temporary hyperthyroidism and a huge boost in leptin — plus major glycogen retention for following day, which would allow one to drop back into a 25g carb ingestion w/ AP (for pre & post w/o meals), lowering caloric intake to force more lipolysis — EXACTLY the benefits of a ketogenic diet format only remaining fuller & retaining more lean mass due to AP & P-Slin usage!
The concept works well in my situation, as I train early in the morning (between 1st & 2nd meals of day) and I would utilize those stores of glycogen quickly, while also taking advantage of the lower intake of the current day.
Then the next day, I would use P-Slin @50g carb intake for pre, AP with 30g carbs post w/o meals, no complex carbs thru rest of day. The following day would be AP w/ carb intakes of 25/25/25 for first three meals of day, none rest of day; then you’re back to your carb-up day again.
I implemented this plan last night: added a 7th meal (or 8th, if you count my 1 scoop protein 20 min. prior to w/o as a meal) of 6 oz. sweet potato, medium-sized banana, 1/4 cup 10-grain cereal (27g carbs/140 cals), 1 1/2 cups broccoli, and 1 scoop isolate. Mmmm, good stuff! Woke this morning big & full, dryer looking, great impact so far…
I’ll review this & update the results, don’t want to recommend something that doesn’t work, but I’ve got confidence this will produce spectacularly.
On another tip, I am AMAZED after beating my legs mercilously in yesterday’s w/o that I feel no soreness; it’s almost like I could train them today if I wanted too. I beat them hard due to the fact it was my last big leg day in that format of this prep, wanted to go out like a champ. No soreness tho.. I’m taken aback. Must be the Cissus recovery effect. I love that stuff!

All right, I’ll come out of hiding for a quick update pic, figured this won’t give too much away.  Took these yesterday, plus the new avi as well.  Fat loss is in raging mode right now, seeing results from the temporary drop in carbs this week.  Plus, I’ve gone back to doing some sort of training every day.  I figure even tho the cals are down, the supplementation regime I’m running will hold the muscle fine.

I’m really surprised that I’m this light, weighed 173.8 upon waking for second straight day.  Not worrying about it, just surprised.   I competed in my last show in 2004 at 167 lbs.  My years of living on a ketogenic diet have added very little in the way of substantial lean mass.  Don’t know why I’m surprised at this, but I guess it’s shocking to me to know that working out like a madman and "smart" supplementation the past couple years has kept me in limbo as far as gains, all due to living the keto life.  Scientifically one would say "well duh" (now that I understand a bit more about the body’s processess), but emotionally it’s a freakin bummer.  Ah well, live & learn…

And the background in the oblique shot - that’s the wife’s side of the closet guys; didn’t realize that until I took it.. 

Wow, do I sound redundant when I say "another great workout"? It is what it is; shoulder/bi/tri/abs day was off the hook intense, strength unbelievable, everything just flowing.
I’ve always been big on mind-muscle connection, practice it religiously. Today tho focus was on another level; every rep was zoned in to a T, every contraction nailed, negatives perfect. And I’ll even say that in my ab routine today (thanx Joe Franco!), I have never had that kind of concentration thru the entire movement on EVERY rep IN MY LIFE…
Again I need to note that I am 19 days away from my show, hardcore dieting to lean up, calories at roughly 1800 daily; pre w/o meal was 320 cals/40g carbs w/ P-slin, 75g carbs total for day. Highlights: giant-setted seated db laterals/bent over laterals, this following 5 sets front shoulder press in 6-12 rep range w/ 45 sec. rests; supersetted bi/tri work w/ 45 rest periods. Abs were done w/ 30 sec. rest periods, 9 sets. AND energy to spare..
On top of the world…

A quick peek at foods used/macros consumed for a carb-up day Saturday, before I decrease carbs significantly over next 5 days…

Nutrients Consumed Today
grams calories %total
Total 2050
Protein 258   1032   50.34%
Carbs  178    712    34.73%
Fiber    30     120      5.85%
Sugar   41    164      8%
Fat       34    306    14.93%
Sat        9      81      3.95%
Poly       5      45      2.2%
Mono    12   108      5.27%
»View All Nutrition Facts

Bananas, raw medium (7" to 7-7/8" long) 112 1 27 0
Grapefruit, raw, pink (approx 4" dia) 56 1 13 0
Scottish Oatmeal 159 6 27 3
Ten Grain Cereal 145 6 28 1
shrimp 324 69 3 4
Minute Brown Rice 174 3 36 2
Broccoli, frozen, chopped, boiled, 124 11 20 0
Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, cup cherry 28 1 6 0
Lettuce, green leaf, raw 4 oz. 20 2 3 0
Oil, olive, tablespoon 117 0 0 13
Beverly Muscle Provider 109 21 4 1
Oryx Goat Whey 64 15 1 0
Kens OliveOil Vinaigrette, 1 tablespoon 35 0 2 3
NB Isopure 100 25 0 0
ON ProComplex 129 28 2 1
ON ProComplex 129 28 2 1
Fish, tuna, white, canned in water 209 41 0 5
Salsa, 2 tablespoon 16 0 4 0
Total 2050 258 178 34

Off topic for a moment here, but did anybody read the article in the latest edition of Sports Illustrated on PEDs? (referring to steroids & HGH.)
Geeeez. You know, the worst part about that (other than the media putting it out there incessantly — which is what helps put it in these youngsters minds, despite media position that they publish this crap because we need to deter youth from such use) is that the uneducated public (what’s that, 80-90% of the population, if not more) looks at the things we do as natural bodybuilding & puts us in the same group. I cannot count how many times in my life I’ve been asked "do you do steroids?" Even the other day when I was visiting my grandma, telling her how excited I was about my show & keeping her up to date, she asks me "Now you’re not doing this stuff Bonds and Clemens are doing are you?" — despite knowing I am & always have been personally against steroid use.
It’s really sad that people who try to better their appearance these days all get lumped in with the same crowd…

Unreal workout this morning. Think I got the best pump yet in this whole prep, everything was just clicking, strength was off the hook, and I had enough energy going on to power the city of New York for a year! All this on reduced food/cals too; in fact, I only did 40g carbs/320 cals for my P-Slin pre w/o meal, so I was really taken aback by the results.
Maybe the new beta product (USPlabs all-natural testosterone booster that I’ve been using for almost 4 weeks now) kickin’ in full gear?..

The format: CHEST/BACK/ABS

5×12/12/6/6/6 db inclines (supersetted w/)
5×10/10/10/9/9 chins

4×8-10 db flyes (supersetted w/)
4×8-12 bent-over db rows (done off incline bench)

4×8 db declines (supersetted w/)
4×20/16/12/8 close-grip pulldowns to front

4×12 db decline straight-arm pullovers

15 mintues abs w/ 30 sec. rest between sets
(time to hammer those abs)

60 second rest between everything else.
I finished this in under 50 minutes..
PUMPED!!!

 I should note a few additional dietary changes made.
Aside from eliminating the Mass Maker (reluctantly… had to get rid of the maltodextrin tho) I’ve also eliminated the cottage cheese from nighttime shake. Shake is now 1 scoop Ultra Size, 1 scoop Muscle Provider (both Beverly) and 3/4 scoop Pro Complex (ON). This makes for right around 330 cals w/ 57g protein. Ultra Size will be phased out for a more straight protein, probably additional Pro Complex. I’m concentrating on making each of my 6 meals as close to 300 cals as possible, so I should be able to hit 1900 steadily (gives me 100 to play with thru the day).
I’ve also upped the ante on the L-Carnitine, 1g prior to every meal. The goal is to trim down as much as possible over next 10 days w/o losing muscle mass…
Fat loss has hit another gear already; my wife, who really doesn’t say much about these things, commented to that effect as I was posing today. YEAAAAHHH, now that’s what I’m talking about!!!
Sole carb sources now are the 10-grain cereal (w/ water & protein powder), oatmeal, brown rice, and Ezekiel orange wrapper bread, as well as grapefruit in the morning That’s it; gone are sweet potatoes (for now) and Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin bread (again, reluctantly, that stuff was good).
No more updates on the workout format from here on out; I think I’ve given a good idea of my personal progressive changes & the intensity I feel the USP stack has provided me with…

Got some feedback from Joe Franco last night on my progress, was advised to reduce carb intake for the next 2 weeks. I agree; this led me to dwelling overnight on the best plan of attack for this (my OCD had a field day with this one…)

First of all, I feel the amount of cardio I’m currently doing needed to be changed; I’m burning fat, but also losing some muscle, just looking like a smaller version of myself. If I reduce carb & caloric intake as well, this becomes more of an issue. So, decided I’m done w/ the cardio.  I’ll still do 60-yd. sprints 3-4x weekly to bring my legs in, but that’s it - no more extended HIIT, or cardio on "off" days. Dietary changes should take care of the rest.

My plan of attack for that: reduce carb intake to @150g daily on training days, 100g or less on off-days (every 4th day, where I used to do 30 minutes HIIT), utilizing 3 meals of about 40g, 30g, & 30g complex carb consumption w/ Anabolic Pump prior, no complex at other 3 meals of day. This feels intuitively right; I’ll try it for 2 weeks & see what happens. Then on the off-days, I can do 20-30 minute posing sessions & work on my night routine.

Today’s workout: SHOULDERS/BI/TRI/ABS
15 minutes of abs, using 5 different exercises (3 of them weighted) w/ 45 sec. rest between sets

3×8-15 standing laterals (superset w/)
3×8-13 rear lateral raises
60 sec. rest

4×6-12 behind neck standing shoulder press
60 sec. rest

3×8-12 concentration curl (superset w/)
3×10-12 tri pushdown
60 sec. rest

3×8-12 db curl
3×12-15 lying tri extension
60 sec. rest

3×6-10 ez bar curl (superset w/)
3×8-12 close-grip bench press
60 sec. rest

Every once in awhile I like to do isolation exercises first for shoulders before my compound movement(s); got a great pump today.

March 8

Great workout this morning, loving the different form & pace of the routine. I enjoy changing up schemes constantly anyway, so this motivates me even more…

The format: LEGS
4×12-15 leg extentions (superset w/)
4×6-10 squats (75 sec. rest)

1 set max reps squat @ 135

3×12-15 leg curls (superset w/)
3×8-10 stiff-legged deads on raised platform (75 sec. rest)

1 set max reps leg curls

3×10 ham/glute raises (60 sec. rest)

6×60 yd. sprints

3×15 donkey calf raises (w/ wife & plate on my back, 45 sec. rest)
3×15 standing calf raises (off platform)
3×15 standing calf raises (flat ground, toes pointed in/out/straight)

All the calf raises were done in slow, controlled movement w/ pause at the top. I like the donkey raises, not too sure my wife cares for being on my back at that point in the w/o however (I’m a bit sweaty)… she’s a good girl tho, gotta give her props.

March 7

Decided to start my training shift a day early. Focus now for next 3 weeks (don’t count last week of prep, as that format is geared to glycogen depletion) is mind-muscle connection & perfect form w/ less rest (mostly supersets) rather than strength & going to failure to build muscle. If I ain’t got it by now, sure ain’t gonna build it from here on out. It’s all about dialing in the definition now…
I also switched up body parts in my split, so I can focus more on push/pull supersets.

Today’s format: chest/back supersets
4×6-12 flat bb bench
4×8-12 bent bb rows

4×8-15 db flyes
4×8-12 one-arm db rows

4×8-12 incline bb bench
4×10/9/8/7 pull-ups (bodyweight, very strict, pause)

12 min. HIIT
12 min. steady state cardio

The weight training took me @ 32 minutes, taking 1-minute rests between supersets. Very brisk pace.

Also, decided to drop into my lower cal intake starting today; just really wanting to focus on shredding it up at this point.
Might drop back a smidge on the cardio as well, 20-25 min. sessions instead of 30 min., just being conscious of chewing into muscle stores.  In conjunction with lowering my caloric intake, I have started adding 2g BCAA’s as well as 500mg L-Carnitine to each meal. I’ll run this until 2 weeks out, when I’ll move to Beverly’s Muscularity BCAA’s (3 each meal; right now using Twinlab) and then I’ll move up to 1g L-Carnitine per meal as well. Some have said this is overkill (on the carnitine), but I’ve gotten great results in the past using this format, fat just melts away…

Had a few minutes so I wanted to discuss some changes in diet/training:

Okay so today was cardio & abs:
5 abs exercises x 2 sets each in circuit fashion
20 minutes HIIT
10 minutes steady state cardio

I’m beginning to like the 20 min. HIIT/10 min. steady cardio format (instead of 30 min. HIIT), it just feels right.
Tried something different w/ diet today. I’m not trimming back on intake until Saturday (4-weeks out) but I wanted a low-intake variation today. As well, I wanted to try P-Slin prior to a cardio w/o, as all I typically use on these days is AP.
Reason being I only slept 5 hours last night & felt I needed a bit more fuel for cardio today. I should mention that was the first time sleeping less than 6 hours in a couple weeks; usually been hitting close to 7 hours/night. PowerFULL has been awesome to get my sleep patterns corrected, last night must’ve been a blip.
Anyway, P-Slin meal (#1, pre w/o) was:
1/2 cup oats
1 scoop Mass Maker
1 scoop Isopure Isolate
1 piece Ezekiel cinnamon raisin bread
59g carbs, 41g protein @420 cals

post w/o meal (#2, w/ Anabolic Pump 15 minutes prior):
1 scoop Mass Maker
1 scoop Isopure Isolate
1 piece Ezekiel cr bread
1 grapefruit
53g carbs, 35g protein @370 cals

I’ll make the remaining 4 meals of my day between 260-310 cals, w/ 28g carbs at meal #4 and 24g carbs w/ meal #6. That’ll make just over 2000 calories for the day. Kind of a preview for the dietary changes I’ll slide into full-time next week.

I’m diggin this Ezekiel bread. Just got hip to it last fall; living on a keto diet, I really wasn’t looking aroung for carb sources so it never came to my attention. Some awesome stuff tho, good macro profile, minimum fat, perfect carb amount to be versatile w/ my meals, and biblically righteous! Gotta like that…

Some samples of the workouts I’ve been doing recently:

March 5: Interesting workout this morning. Woke to 5" of snow, had to shovel the drive so the wife could get to an appointment, so I shoveled about 25 minutes, enough to get her to the car & out. It was workout time, so had to cut it short. Hit back/bi/tri in format below, had my Anabolic Pump immediately after, ate post w/o shake 15 mintues later, then went out and finished shoveling for another 15 minutes. Muscles were pumped to the max after all that. I don’t mind shoveling snow; my wife says I should get a snowblower, but I’m old-fashioned that way - I kinda like the exercise.

The workout:
8×16/16/16/12/6/6/6/12 bent-over rows
3×12-16 front pulldowns
3×8-12 cable pulls
3×22-25 dips (bodyweight)
3×12-15 tri cable pushdowns
3×12-15 db kickbacks
3×15 straight bar curls
3×8-12 ez-bar curls
3×8-15 alternate db curls w/ twist

March 4: Well, I figured after a day off from working legs yesterday (after the 4 straight days hitting them) I’d be good to go today for squats, what with the incredible recuperation I’ve been experiencing…
Wrong. Quads were still very tender, and I actually thought about rearranging my week to avoid them today. Ahh, couldn’t bring myself to do it. But after warming up with 3 sets squats @15×135, I knew I wasn’t going heavy today; so I adapted on the fly.

Today’s format:
3×15 (135) deep squats
5×10-12 db jump squats (love these, haven’t done in awhile)
4×12-15 leg extentions
6×8-15 leg curls
3×10 ham/glute raises w/pause
3×10-12 romanian deadlifts
3×20 db 1-legged calf raises
3×10-12 bb calf raises
10 min. HIIT cardio
10 min. steady-state cardio

Rest periods were kept between 60-90 seconds, altho most ended up being on the 90 side today. I couldn’t maintain the HIIT, so I fell back to 75% effort on steady cardio the rest of the time. Really wanted to run sprints today rather than the cardio (I love sprinting after squats!), but there was ice on the roads this a.m. so it kept me inside. Took me about 70 minutes,; all-in-all a very productive workout.

March 3: The dietary changes made for yesterday’s intake were pretty effective; woke this morning harder & drier than ever. I’ve been thinking about increasing protein intake for awhile, so now will be adding an egg white or two to some meals thru the day. Also, the scoop of Mass Maker to my nighttime shake w/ Anabolic Pump prior will become a mainstay I believe - this is producing fantastic results. Starting Saturday (4 week out mark) I will swap the one scoop Ultra Size in this shake to Muscle Provider instead (net changes of: -3.5g fat, -2g carbs, +4g protein, -10 calories). You know, I love Beverly, their protein has no rivals, but I am amazed what they charge for this stuff… unbelievable.
I don’t have a feeling right now for when (if?) I should eliminate the ff cottage cheese from this meal, but I’m guessing the final week…

Feeling pretty pumped as I prepare for this workout (I love P-Slin!), and excitment abounds as I enter this week knowing that I really haven’t hit my full stride yet…

Today’s workout format:
6×8-15 flat bb bench
4×8-12 db decline bench
2xmax reps dips (bodyweight)
4×8-15 close-grip bench
6×8-12 seated front press
4×12-20 standing laterals
4×8-20 shrugs

March 2: Trying not to be concerned about the weight, but I was at 179.2 when I woke this morning, yikes.

Training today:

10 sets abs (2 sets each of 5 different movements)
30 minutes HIIT cardio

Diet-wise, I was planning to reduce carb intake for the day:
52g carbs pre w/o
52g carbs post w/o
24g carbs last meal
all w/ AP prior

As for switching up other macros, adding more protein & fat:
more protein to every meal (except #6)
3g fish oil @ meals 3 thru 6
as well as olive oil meals 3, 4, & 5

Well, wanted to take some time to update a few of the training changes I’m making.  I’ve already written (I think anyway) about my dislike for cardio; I’ve always preferred to lose bodyfat & get shredded thru diet & ramping up the training sessions with supersets & tri-sets, even double-double sets.  Using my prior ketogenic approach had something to do with this as well; there just wasn’t a lot of room for error on that kind of a diet, and I was always fearful of chewing into my muscle stores.

Now, I am still losing bodyfat at an appreciable rate on my carb-infused diet, that’s not an issue.  I will still add in some super & tri-sets as well.  But I recently had the pleasure of meeting online with Joe Franco, an accomplished all-natural pro bodybuilder and also a member of Team USP.  Joe suggested, among other things, that I needed to do cardio in order to hit my trouble spots - my ham/glute tie-ins, as well as to reduce to bodyfat in my kidney/lower back area, which is where I always hold my bodyfat.  He took one look at my progress pics, called out my weak points immediately & said "Dude, you need cardio".  That was pretty impressive, and as much as I hate cardio, how am I gonna argue with Mr. Pro Joe Franco?

So, I’ve instilled 2 HIIT cardio days a week now, on what used to be my off days (I run a 3-day split routine).  On top of that, I’ll be running 8×60 yard sprints 3x weekly on weight training days.  And of course, hitting the ham/glute raises like a madman.  I’ve now done some sort of leg training, HIIT, or sprinting 4 days straight, and I can see a big difference already.  While this may seem like a simple thing to some people, I was pretty floored with the quickness that Joe dialed in my weaknesses.

The support & guidance I’ve received from USPlabs has been incredible, and I should mention that I am very grateful for this.  While I don’t wish to sound cocky by any means, I am confident that I can do well in this show; and now, by utilizing Joe’s expertise as well, I am that much more pumped to see April 5th roll around!

I probably shouldn’t do this right now (in case some of my competition out there decides to get Joe in their corner too, lol), but in the interest of being informative & putting out information that I believe will help some guys out there out, I’ll put in a plug here for Joe.  He does online personal training, is very accessable, and can be reached thru his website at FitFranco.com.  If nothing else, go check out some of his competition photos on there — this guy really knows how to dial it in.