breezy's training, supplementation, and food log

[NattyForLife]

Hey breezy, do you find that you get more upper chest stimulation by tucking your elbow on the HS incline press?

 

[804]

Thanks man.

Here's a the single arm row on the unilateral leg press that I mentioned.

[video=youtube_share;7RPuZNWGhZY]http://youtu.be/7RPuZNWGhZY[/video]

Those look awesome man.. My gym used to have a piece of equipment like that! Great work

Also, I liked the video with the angle banded ha incline press- I gotta check to see how I could accommodate the bands on the one we have. Great stuff

 

[kbayne]

The contraction on the HS angled incline press is intense!! I usually throw them in my routine or perform both arms at once and do a drop set doing single arm angled.

 

[booneman77]

I love all the interesting equipment you use outside its normal context. I've been exploring things at my gym like this ha. You're an inspiration breezy

 

[hardwork25]

I don't think any Bronco or Broncos fan is excited about going there lol.

We don't have to worry about it now...

Payton looked old today.

 

[breezy11]

Hey breezy, do you find that you get more upper chest stimulation by tucking your elbow on the HS incline press?

I don't think I've ever consciously tucked my elbows, but I'll give it a try and let you know. I usually just make sure to keep my chest up/arched and make other small adjustments based on how it feels.

Those look awesome man.. My gym used to have a piece of equipment like that! Great work

Also, I liked the video with the angle banded ha incline press- I gotta check to see how I could accommodate the bands on the one we have. Great stuff

Yeah, the way the arms of that machine swing back is perfect for rowing.

For any of the HS chest press machines, I just double a red mini band around one of the bars supporting the seat and loop the ends over the handles.

like this:
Invalid Link Removed

The contraction on the HS angled incline press is intense!! I usually throw them in my routine or perform both arms at once and do a drop set doing single arm angled.

Yes it is. Give it a shot with bands if you haven't. I'll have to try that sometime.

I love all the interesting equipment you use outside its normal context. I've been exploring things at my gym like this ha. You're an inspiration breezy

Thanks boone. Much appreciated. Meadows has been a huge influence over the last few years and has really sparked my creativity. I always like finding another way to effectively work a muscle, but if an idea doesn't work out very well, I'll trash it immediately.

We don't have to worry about it now...

Payton looked old today.

I wasn't going to mention it.

 

[804]

Yeah, the way the arms of that machine swing back is perfect for rowing.

For any of the HS chest press machines, I just double a red mini band around one of the bars supporting the seat and loop the ends over the handles.

like this:
Invalid Link Removed

Yeah its a nice ROM. I will be testing the bands out today :biggthumpup: thanks for the vid bro!

 

[breezy11]

Yeah its a nice ROM. I will be testing the bands out today :biggthumpup: thanks for the vid bro!

No problem man.

 

[breezy11]

Here's tonight's back session.



Pull Ups
2 sets of 8 of wide, mid, and close neutral grip




Heel Elevated Trap Bar Rows (banded)
1 warm-up set of 12
4 sets of 10

[video=youtube_share;ds5lbMw1hfs]http://youtu.be/ds5lbMw1hfs[/video]




Smith Rows
4 sets of 6 (after working up to a good weight)

-rest-pause, explosive, from mid-shin




DB Pullovers
sets of 15, 12, 10, 8 working up in weight




Chest Supported T-Bar Rows
sets of 15, 12, 10, 8 working up in weight

-elbows kept high and wide, working upper back/traps




Rack Pulls with chains
worked up with sets of 6 until barley getting 6
-final set: removed chains/waited 1 min and did another set of 6

 

[804]

Nice back work bud. I swear all these Meadows takeoffs.. you're starting to look like him haha!

 

[Swolbraham]

what does elevating the heel do for the rows? interesting

god i'm excited for when you start my programming, i have a feeling i'm going to learn so much stuff lol

 

[kbayne]

what does elevating the heel do for the rows? interesting god i'm excited for when you start my programming, i have a feeling i'm going to learn so much stuff lol

Take pressure off the lower back.

 

[wasme]

Learn so much just following this log!

 

[wasme]

Take pressure off the lower back.

Thanks for the answer, definitely going to try this..

 

[breezy11]

Nice back work bud. I swear all these Meadows takeoffs.. you're starting to look like him haha!

Thanks. Lol, I think we might weigh about the same, except he's shorter, leaner, and carries a ton more muscle.

what does elevating the heel do for the rows? interesting

god i'm excited for when you start my programming, i have a feeling i'm going to learn so much stuff lol

Take pressure off the lower back.

Yup. I also like elevated heels with the trap bar because it allows me to hit my back the way I'd like without bending over quite as much...otherwise, I end up altering my ROM to avoid clipping my ass with the bar on each rep.

Learn so much just following this log!

Glad to help wasme. Thanks.

 

[Swolbraham]

Take pressure off the lower back.

wow, thank you. that's pretty cool never thought of that, i'll give it a whirl. thanks bro!

 

[kbayne]

wow, thank you. that's pretty cool never thought of that, i'll give it a whirl. thanks bro!

It's a very effective technique/move.

Try heel elevated squats as well and that'll really target the quads while keeping strain off the lower back.

 

[breezy11]

It's a very effective technique/move.

Try heel elevated squats as well and that'll really target the quads while keeping strain off the lower back.

Yeah, I use it a lot more for squats than rows. Front squats with heels elevated can light up your quads pretty quick. I should probably just get some good squatting shoes with a heel because standing on plates can be a little sketchy with a decent amount of weight.

 

[breezy11]

Elevated heels, shoulder width stance, and keeping as upright as possible works great for me, if really trying to put more focus on my quads (a lot harder than my normal stance too). The same approach without elevated heels works good as well.

Invalid Link Removed


Heel elevated pause squats are another good one.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[breezy11]

These have been my "non-training day at work meals" for the last couple weeks.

Invalid Link Removed

Invalid Link Removed

Each contains grilled chicken, roast turkey, ground turkey, broccoli, and red palm/coconut oil. 2 have fajita seasoning and 2 have buffalo/hot sauce. All 4 taste fantastic.

Edit: I usually bring a beef meal as well.

 

[wasme]

That looks awesome

 

[804]

I tried the rows with the elevated heels.. what a difference it made in lower back tension relief! Also, it help me from "bouncing". Nice meal prep brotha. Couple net carbs each?

 

[breezy11]

That looks awesome

Thanks man. I'm about to have some now.

I tried the rows with the elevated heels.. what a difference it made in lower back tension relief! Also, it help me from "bouncing". Nice meal prep brotha. Couple net carbs each?

Nice brother. Yeah, the only carbs are from broccoli. I had plenty when I got home though.

 

[breezy11]

I trained legs this afternoon. I decided to hit my hamstrings with some heavier weight first, but kept things pretty light overall.



BB Stiff Deads
-worked up slowly (small weight increments) with sets of 8 until barely getting 8.

Sets of 315 and 405:

[video=youtube_share;0AfF4dW5lm0]http://youtu.be/0AfF4dW5lm0[/video]





Plate Loaded Squat Machine
warm up sets of 20,15
working sets of 12, 10, 8




Adductor / Abductor
3 sets of 10/10




Somersault Squats
3 sets of 8




Leg Extensions
3 sets of 12

-2 sec flex at top




Lying Leg Curls
5 sets of 10

 

[breezy11]

Here are some thoughts from Alexander Cortes (Elitefts columnist/Mtn. Dog Diet coach), which relate to a point that I made earlier this week, regarding large caloric intakes and eating more frequently.




Alexander Juan Antonio Cortes

Yesterday at 4:58pm


"Short thoughts on Caloric level and muscle growth (credit to Nick Tong for sparking this)

-No one grows MORE on LESS calories/food. Aside from the fact that a surplus is needed, it's uncommon that anyone is going to grow eating barely over maintenance

Freak factors aside, you will need to eat, and eat a lot


-frequent eating works far better than larger meals-argue this all goddamn day if you want, but 6+ meals is a highly effective way to maximize calorie intake, keep food varied, keep anabolism going, and it's worked for 70+ years of competitive bodybuilding

Especially when calories are 4,000-5,000 and beyond, fitting that into 3 meals can get ridiculous. For bigger guys 250+ plus (yeah, everyone feel bad about yourself now) that would equate to a pound+ of meat and rice at one meal. Fun for few days, but not practical long term. Moderate meals and frequent meals are better"







I've had a very busy day, but made it to the gym earlier. I'll try to post a training update at halftime if I can. Go Pats.

 

[breezy11]

Chest/Shoulders


Angled HS Incline Press
4 sets of 8R/8L/8RL


Smith Incline Press
-worked up with sets of 8 to a pretty tough 8 and then did 3 working sets with that weight + 2 drops on the final set (wide grip on final drop)



Neutral Grip Machine Press
3 sets of 8

-3 second eccentric, 2 sec stretch, explosive concentric, 2 sec flex



Overhead Incline Cable Flyes
3 sets of 10

I should've recorded these from another angle, but the idea is to bring your arms up over your head, instead of your chest. This targets the upper chest around the clavicle.

[video=youtube_share;gTKKEtkG2KU]http://youtu.be/gTKKEtkG2KU[/video]



Bent-Over DB Laterals
4 sets of 15

-1 min rest



Seated DB Laterals
4 sets of 10

-slight lean forward to hit some rear delts



Reverse Shoulder Machine Press
3 sets of 8

 

[breezy11]

"EVERYTHING in this industry is context driven.

If everybody understood this we would ask the CORRECT questions.

Is HIIT cardio better than LISS cardio is not a good question.
Would you have someone do HIIT cardio if they had no energy and couldn't produce the requisite interval intensity? If someone had a ton of energy and recovered well would you have them slowly walk on the treadmill?


Are higher loads better than lower loads? Not a good question.
Would you have someone use high loads if their joints were aching? Really?

Is training a bodypart once a week or 2 times a week better? If someone is recovered in 48 hours do you think it is better to wait another half week? Your rationale is "Dorian did it"?

Learn to look at individual situations and context.

Learn to ask the right questions and think....

This will lead you to provide better answers to all these black and white questions people want a yes or no to. The truth is, it's all grey."

-John Meadows

 

[breezy11]

Meadows rows? :think:


[video=youtube_share;Kaem3O-HmwU]http://youtu.be/Kaem3O-HmwU[/video]

 

[Sean1332]

Meadows rows? :think: Invalid Link Removed

lol wtf!

 

[breezy11]

lol wtf!

lol yup.

 

[booneman77]

Meadows rows? :think: Invalid Link Removed

hahaha office space. Perfect.

 

[804]

looks like a good attempt to rip everything in the shoulders and upper back

 

[wasme]

lmao

 

[Swolbraham]

Meadows rows? :think:


[video=youtube_share;Kaem3O-HmwU]http://youtu.be/Kaem3O-HmwU[/video]

Reminds me of my myself every back day

Sike lol

 

[breezy11]

hahaha office space. Perfect.

Great movie.





I had a secondary back session this morning. The goal was to work my back from every angle, using different grips and exercises that don't put any stress on the lower back (heavy legs is tomorrow and I don't want a weakened lower back).


HS High Row
sets of 12, 10, 8

-pronated grip



HS Low Row
sets of 12, 10, 8

-supinated grip



DB Rows
sets of 12, 10, 8

-neutral grip



Smith Rows
sets of 12, 10, 8

-pronated grip




DB Pullovers
sets of 12, 10, 8



Standing Single Arm Cable Rows
sets of 12, 10, 8

-starting pronated and moving to neutral grip
-targeting teres major (had a video example, but it got deleted with my old youtube account)




Assisted Pull-Ups
sets of 12, 10, 8

 

[breezy11]

Legs


Lying Leg Curls
2 warm-up sets of 12
6 work sets of 8



BB Back Squat
-worked up with explosive sets of 6 until losing acceleration (8 total sets/3 work)




Banded Leg Press / BW Walking Lunges
-worked up to a tough 10 and did 4 sets with that weight / lunges to failure

-doubled monster minis
-lunges were added in with leg press work sets




Leg Extensions
-1 extended set of 100 with 15 second breaks when needed + 2, 20 second iso-holds at the end (15 seconds between each)




Band Good Mornings
2 sets of 50



Backwards Prowler Push
3 rounds of 40 steps

[video=youtube_share;AXmeaUzRszk]http://youtu.be/AXmeaUzRszk[/video]

 

[breezy11]

I'm still not feeling that great (definitely better than I was though). I'm going to start tightening up a little, but there's a good chance I'll hold off on competing in May because I don't think I'm in a good place to put my body through prep and the stage isn't going anywhere. Either way, the plan is to get leaner over the next month or so and see how I feel. If I decide not to compete in May, I'll probably get back to adding weight and correcting some weaknesses before deciding on my next competition.


That said, I plan on adding in some eccentricless training/cardio to help tighten up and get through tough leg workouts without feeling like I'll have a heart attack.


Here's a couple examples of what I plan on doing:

[video=youtube_share;i576kbm4kn4]http://youtu.be/i576kbm4kn4?list=PLNAUreWTt_Sg 8NCXJ6d_uegpExWxgEO0B[/video]


[video=youtube_share;Ur-Otrz1lRg]http://youtu.be/Ur-Otrz1lRg?list=PLNAUreWTt_Sg8NC XJ6d_uegpExWxgEO0B[/video]

 

[breezy11]

Chest/Shoulders


Flat DB Bench
- worked up with sets of 8 until barely getting 8 (4 warm-up/3 work sets)
- constant tension




Incline BB Press
- 4 sets of 6 working up
- constant tension




Banded HS Horizontal Press
-3 sets of 6 + 10 partials out of bottom

[video=youtube_share;6OViD3-tzoo]http://youtu.be/6OViD3-tzoo[/video]




Partial Dips
- 3 sets to failure
- working bottom half of movement




Incline DB Rear Delt Laterals / Spidercrawls
- 3 sets of 20 / 3 times up and down wall




Seated DB Press
- 3 sets of 8 + 4 partials

 

[804]

Nice lift brother, I visited a golds gym near my fiances school that had one of those plate loaded bench press machines and I loved it. Didn't even think of the banded capability- great work

 

[breezy11]

Nice lift brother, I visited a golds gym near my fiances school that had one of those plate loaded bench press machines and I loved it. Didn't even think of the banded capability- great work

Thanks man. Yeah, those HS machines are solid. My gym has 4, but I always forget about them for some reason. They were moved to a different room last week, so they caught my attention.

 

[breezy11]

Back


Chest Supported Row / Face (chest) Pulls
4 sets of 10 / 10

-rows: elbows high and wide targeting upper back
-pulls: pulling towards chest targeting upper back




Banded HS Front Pulldown
5 sets of 9

-alternating arms 3 reps per side with an isohold on the now working side

I originally started alternating 1R/1L, but changed the approach during the first set. I added a 5th set because these felt awesome.

[video=youtube_share;3KGEfoRSDRM]http://youtu.be/3KGEfoRSDRM[/video]





DB Pullovers
3 sets of 10




Wide Lat Pulldowns
3 sets of 8 + a drop of 8 on the 3rd set




Prone KB Rows
3 sets of 10

-starting pronated and supinating on the way up
-hard flex




Smith Pulls
4 sets of 8

-like modified rack pulls: pulling from about knee level, 2 second flex, 3 second eccentric, constant tension

 

[breezy11]

Legs


Banded Lying Leg Curls
20 (warm-up)
15 (warm-up)
12
10
8 + 20 second isotension
6 + 20 second isotension

-explosive concentric, hard flex, 3 second eccentric

final set
[video=youtube_share;IOqaNqtqZ8w]http://youtu.be/IOqaNqtqZ8w[/video]



Leg Extensions
6 sets of 15 working up

-heels together, toes out, hard flex
-60 sec rest






Leg Press 1.5's
sets of 10 until barely getting 10

-started 3 plates per side and added 1 per side each set (finished with 7)





Seated Single Leg Press
4 sets of 10

-foot high on platform to involve more glute





Cable Pull-Throughs
5 sets of 8 working up

-full ROM, flexing glutes

 

[804]

Nice leg work brother- sounds like you basically went to failure on those 1.5 lp's

Good grief makes my ass hurt just reading it

 

[breezy11]

Nice leg work brother- sounds like you basically went to failure on those 1.5 lp's

Good grief makes my ass hurt just reading it

Thanks man. I probably had a another rep left in the tank (without pausing/locking out), but it was pretty close.


I'm scheduled to work 13 hours today and won't make the gym. There's 2-3 feet of snow on its way, so tomorrow might be an unwanted day off as well. Hopefully, I can head home a little early before I get stuck in a blizzard.

 

[gokix811]

I believe the weatherman even used the word "historically". Be safe out there Matt.

 

[wasme]

I'm scheduled to work 13 hours today and won't make the gym. There's 2-3 feet of snow on its way, so tomorrow might be an unwanted day off as well. Hopefully, I can head home a little early before I get stuck in a blizzard.

Sounds like you will get a back/hams workout shoveling my friend! Drive safe man. Thankfully we are NOT supposed to get any of this.

 

[Jiigzz]

"EVERYTHING in this industry is context driven.

If everybody understood this we would ask the CORRECT questions.

Is HIIT cardio better than LISS cardio is not a good question.
Would you have someone do HIIT cardio if they had no energy and couldn't produce the requisite interval intensity? If someone had a ton of energy and recovered well would you have them slowly walk on the treadmill?

Are higher loads better than lower loads? Not a good question.
Would you have someone use high loads if their joints were aching? Really?

Is training a bodypart once a week or 2 times a week better? If someone is recovered in 48 hours do you think it is better to wait another half week? Your rationale is "Dorian did it"?

Learn to look at individual situations and context.

Learn to ask the right questions and think....

This will lead you to provide better answers to all these black and white questions people want a yes or no to. The truth is, it's all grey."

-John Meadows

Good post. With athletes its the same except we periodise for lifting and cardio (conflicting cell signalling limits the effectiveness of both if done within a similar time window - these details are crucial for an athlete).

You program for individual variances. So if someone says, should I do HIIT? The answer is always "it depends".

 

[breezy11]

I believe the weatherman even used the word "historically". Be safe out there Matt.

Thanks J. I got to head home around 7, so it wasn't too bad. Different story now though.

Sounds like you will get a back/hams workout shoveling my friend! Drive safe man. Thankfully we are NOT supposed to get any of this.

My lower back isn't feeling that great. I spent a couple hours shoveling snow ranging from 2-3 feet deep. It wasn't heavy snow, but still sucked.

I made some post-shovel Blondie pancakes with toffee crunch pb on top.

Invalid Link Removed

Good post. With athletes its the same except we periodise for lifting and cardio (conflicting cell signalling limits the effectiveness of both if done within a similar time window - these details are crucial for an athlete).

You program for individual variances. So if someone says, should I do HIIT? The answer is always "it depends".

Yeah, the initial answer is usually "it depends" when it comes to training and nutrition.

 

[Sean1332]

Woo! We have over 2ft here on the North Shore.

 

[wasme]

My lower back isn't feeling that great. I spent a couple hours shoveling snow ranging from 2-3 feet deep. It wasn't heavy snow, but still sucked.

I made some post-shovel Blondie pancakes with toffee crunch pb on top.
.

Been there... but thankfully not today! Sucks about your back though - been there too..

Pancakes look great, bet they hit the spot.