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breezy's training, supplementation, and food log

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A question I often hear is, "Does fasted cardio have an advantage?". My answer, as with most questions related to nutrition and training is, "It depends".

Certain ingredients, such as various forms of yohimbine (found in Norcodrene and Vasoburn), can give you an advantage when taken in a fasted state (without the presence of insulin).

Stubborn fat areas, like the "love handles" and lower abdominals and back, have a high density of alpha-2-adrenergic receptors, which makes the breakdown of fat more difficult in those areas. Yohimbine can inhibit the action of the a2 receptor, helping free up fatty acids to be used as fuel.

I'm currently using this combo 40 minutes before fasted LISS to attack stubborn fat.
 
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My diet may be limited in food options at this point, but that doesn't mean that all of my meals need to be bland. People often complain that eating "clean" or healthy is boring and tasteless, but using different spices, seasonings, hot sauces, and other low cal condiments can easily remedy that.

This has been my post-workout meal for a good portion of contest prep. It may change in the next couple of weeks, but it's delicious and I currently look forward to it daily.

-8oz grilled chicken
-1 cup jasmine rice (originally 2 cups)
-diced onion, green pepper, jalapeño
-Trader Joes green dragon hot sauce
-2tbsp salsa
-2tbsp taco seasoning
 
Barbell Back Squats (425x7): I'm not going to be attempting a 1RM (or anything close) this deep into dieting; however, I'll continue training hard with intensity, and do my best to maintain strength in higher rep ranges. Aches, pains, and joint issues start becoming more apparent as body fat gets to very low levels, and the potential for injury is increased. Being mindful of the current situation and training intelligently is of high importance.

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I'm going to be contributing multiple articles, videos, and other content to modernathletichealth.com, each month. The site will officially launch soon, and their IG, FB, and Twitter accounts are currently active, if you want to check it out. I believe AM will be featuring some of the site's content as well.
 
Cage Press: Set the pins so the bar can be placed around chin level. Use a staggered stance for balance and position yourself so that your face is right up against the bar. Grab the bar outside of shoulder width and press it up explosively along the rack. Lean in and tilt your head forward at the top of the movement, while flexing your delts and traps hard. Control the weight on the eccentric, setting it down on the pins before firing back up. Don't use a bunch of momentum to lift the weight by swinging yourself into the bar; remain close and use your delts to drive it straight up. These are harder than they look, so start light and don't be surprised if you can't use a ton of weight. At the end of a set or two, try adding a few partials out of the top of the movement; keep your head forward while you pump your shoulders and traps.

The majority of the time, I prefer staying in the 5-6 rep range when doing these explosively from a dead stop. Alternatively, you can do them with a slower concentric, constant tension, and for higher reps; simply don't let the weight bottom out on the pins between reps.

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After going very low carb for most of the week, it's time for a re-feed. The best way to approach this (if and when necessary) can be highly individual and depend on many factors. One's metabolism, digestion, how their body responds to different food sources, their current rate of progress, how close they are to their current goal, how they're feeling overall, how they're performing in the gym...these are just a few things to take into consideration.

For me personally, keeping fat intake to a minimum, upping carbs quite a bit, and bringing protein down has always worked well. You might be wondering why I'd include a pizza, if fat intake is a concern? Well, the entire thing has a total of 9g of fat, is delicious, and serves its purpose.


Buffalo Chicken Pizza:
-low fat pizza dough
-low fat pizza sauce
-Frank's Buffalo
-fat free mozzarella
-grilled chicken breast
-onion
-green pepper
-jalapeño pepper
-banana pepper
 
breezy11 said:
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After going very low carb for most of the week, it's time for a re-feed. The best way to approach this (if and when necessary) can be highly individual and depend on many factors. One's metabolism, digestion, how their body responds to different food sources, their current rate of progress, how close they are to their current goal, how they're feeling overall, how they're performing in the gym...these are just a few things to take into consideration.

For me personally, keeping fat intake to a minimum, upping carbs quite a bit, and bringing protein down has always worked well. You might be wondering why I'd include a pizza, if fat intake is a concern? Well, the entire thing has a total of 9g of fat, is delicious, and serves its purpose.


Buffalo Chicken Pizza:
-low fat pizza dough
-low fat pizza sauce
-Frank's Buffalo
-fat free mozzarella
-grilled chicken breast
-onion
-green pepper
-jalapeño pepper
-banana pepper
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That pizza looks awesome.
 
Just getting caught up in here after a week away... those veins, great looking meals, and really enjoy your write ups Matt.
 
wasme said:
Just getting caught up in here after a week away... those veins, great looking meals, and really enjoy your write ups Matt.
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Thanks Simon. Much appreciated, man.
 
Still killing it I see breezy! You're starting pic to now are worlds apart. Its insane how youve progressed!
 
Jiigzz said:
Still killing it I see breezy! You're starting pic to now are worlds apart. Its insane how youve progressed!
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Thanks man. It's all an illusion; I actually weigh about 6lbs more in the starting pick than I currently do ha. I've had a few setbacks, but agree that I've made solid progress.
 
What I keep reminding myself...

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Here's a couple exercises from last night's arm session:


Incline DB Curls/Standing Hammer Curls

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EZ-Bar Curls

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Time for a diet adjustment. While progress hasn't come to a halt, I felt that I should make a couple of small adjustments to help keep it moving at a steady pace. The cup of rice that I looked forward to in my post-workout meal has been removed (for now), in favor of egg whites. Although carbs and calories have been reduced, the overall amount of food on my plate has gone up, and it still tastes pretty damn good.



Grilled Chili Chicken with Cheddar Eggs:
-8oz grilled chicken
-1 cup liquid egg whites (mixed/cooked with Kernal Seasons cheddar seasoning )
-2 cups broccoli
-diced onion
-Trader Joes Green Dragon Hot sauce
-1tbsp chili powder
 
This is from this past weekend.


Tricep Pushdowns: This exercise was done with an assisted pull-up/dip machine and worked the long and lateral heads of the triceps well. I prefer starting the set with a hard flex at lock0ut and a slow eccentric. Once the triceps become fatigued, I transition to constant tension and more of a pumping style to burn them out.

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A lot of people say that the Smith machine sucks because it's not "functional", or it's a one way ticket to injury, but that's most likely because they don't know how to take advantage of what it truly has to offer. While squatting in the Smith won't provide the same benefits as a barbell squat, it does allow you to target certain muscles quite well.

Banded Smith Squats: When setting up, place your feet out in front of the bar (you can lean back into it a tiny bit) just outside of shoulder width, with your toes pointed out slightly. This will allow you to drop straight down and focus on your quads.

* A closer stance (shoulder width) would put even more emphasis on the quads, while a wide stance would involve the hamstrings and adductors more.

I chose to use #elitefts resistance bands, a slow tempo, and constant tension (no lock0ut) to up the intensity. The goal for each working set was to maintain 6 reps with a 5 second eccentric, a 2 second pause where quad tension peaked, and a 3 second concentric. It may not sound too challenging, considering the weight used, but the added band resistance and time under tension, make these brutal.

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Committing to something new can seem overwhelming at first.

If you repeat an action correctly enough times, you form a good habit.

Action requires a high level of focus initially, but when repeated until the action becomes a habit, the process becomes automatic.
 
I don't post a lot in here, but always watching to learn.

Happy birthday man.
 
The last couple of days have been extremely tough. Thankfully, I'll be eating plenty of carbs today, which should have me feeling better (for a short period of time). One meal down and my body is responding fast. I should continue to tighten up and fill out throughout the day. Lighting is awful here, but I'll try to get a few more pics as changes become more apparent.

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breezy11 said:
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Time for a diet adjustment. While progress hasn't come to a halt, I felt that I should make a couple of small adjustments to help keep it moving at a steady pace. The cup of rice that I looked forward to in my post-workout meal has been removed (for now), in favor of egg whites. Although carbs and calories have been reduced, the overall amount of food on my plate has gone up, and it still tastes pretty damn good.



Grilled Chili Chicken with Cheddar Eggs:
-8oz grilled chicken
-1 cup liquid egg whites (mixed/cooked with Kernal Seasons cheddar seasoning )
-2 cups broccoli
-diced onion
-Trader Joes Green Dragon Hot sauce
-1tbsp chili powder
Click to expand...

This looks anazing
 
breezy11 said:
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Time for a diet adjustment. While progress hasn't come to a halt, I felt that I should make a couple of small adjustments to help keep it moving at a steady pace. The cup of rice that I looked forward to in my post-workout meal has been removed (for now), in favor of egg whites. Although carbs and calories have been reduced, the overall amount of food on my plate has gone up, and it still tastes pretty damn good.



Grilled Chili Chicken with Cheddar Eggs:
-8oz grilled chicken
-1 cup liquid egg whites (mixed/cooked with Kernal Seasons cheddar seasoning )
-2 cups broccoli
-diced onion
-Trader Joes Green Dragon Hot sauce
-1tbsp chili powder
Click to expand...

This looks amazing
 
breezy11 said:
The last couple of days have been extremely tough. Thankfully, I'll be eating plenty of carbs today, which should have me feeling better (for a short period of time). One meal down and my body is responding fast. I should continue to tighten up and fill out throughout the day. Lighting is awful here, but I'll try to get a few more pics as changes become more apparent.

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Holy Hannah!!! Ripped up!!
You sir are an inspiration!
 
breezy11 said:
The last couple of days have been extremely tough. Thankfully, I'll be eating plenty of carbs today, which should have me feeling better (for a short period of time). One meal down and my body is responding fast. I should continue to tighten up and fill out throughout the day. Lighting is awful here, but I'll try to get a few more pics as changes become more apparent.

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Ladies and gentlemen, here we have one awesome, both mentally and physically strong athlete. You motivate me a lot! Stay tough man, I believe that those last weeks and last days are truly horrible but remember that the victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay it's price!
 
That's just insane breezy.... Insane vascularity all over
 
JaySlayer said:
Chillllllll B you just made me want to do hrs of cardio after looking at your progress
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Ha well, I don't do hours of cardio. I've been at 40mins 5x per week, but am picking that up a bit this week. I just try to get the most out of it when its actually done. Diet is the biggest factor for me when getting lean.
 
Drolhunter said:
Ladies and gentlemen, here we have one awesome, both mentally and physically strong athlete. You motivate me a lot! Stay tough man, I believe that those last weeks and last days are truly horrible but remember that the victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay it's price!
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Thanks dude. It means a lot hearing that I'm able to motivate you. Yeah, these next few weeks are going to be a struggle, as I tend to go pretty hard and can barely function at this point. One day at a time lol. Last few days will hopefully be a bit easier, as I start to carb up.
 
Great composition brother, and I might add that your chest has come SO far from the physique show of 2013.. I remember you used to claim it was your "lagging" area.. super impressive improvements there. hats off to you
 
804 said:
Great composition brother, and I might add that your chest has come SO far from the physique show of 2013.. I remember you used to claim it was your "lagging" area.. super impressive improvements there. hats off to you
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Thanks man. I've made some improvements with it, but it's honestly still a pretty big weakness for me. Thanks again though; it'll continue to be a focus during this coming off season.
 
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I got my Gourmet Vanilla Select in yesterday. Awesome flavor, creamy, and has crushed vanilla beans in it. Highly recommended if you're a vanilla fan.
 
Band High Pulls: I came up with this setup about a year ago and have since used it for several different rowing, pullover, and extension variations. That said, this exercise may be my favorite use for it. It's a great way to work the traps, rear delts, and overall upper back. As you move towards the top of the movement, the increasing band tension leads to a strong contraction of the target muscles. Any questions, let me know.

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Supinated Upper Back Cable Rows: This seated cable row variation was inspired by John Meadows, and is a great way to effectively target the upper back. Use a supinated grip (palms up) right outside of shoulder width. Lean forward a bit and pull back towards just below your chest (don't lean back on the concentric, stay forward). Get a decent stretch on the eccentric, and then retract your scapulae (pull your shoulders back) while bringing your elbows to your sides. Flex hard for a second when fully contracted; if you can't, try lowering the weight.

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Trying to get these glutes to come in...

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breezy11 said:
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I got my Gourmet Vanilla Select in yesterday. Awesome flavor, creamy, and has crushed vanilla beans in it. Highly recommended if you're a vanilla fan.
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I ordered 6 big tubs in the insider. I dont like Vanilla typically - but you are right, fantastic flavor.
 
wasme said:
I ordered 6 big tubs in the insider. I dont like Vanilla typically - but you are right, fantastic flavor.
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That's a big gamble for someone who doesn't generally like vanilla lol. Glad you like it man, one of my favorite flavors period. Great for mixing with something else too.
 
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