BIGGER, FASTER, STRONGER: Snag's Recipe for a [NATURAL] Recomp, Competition Style!

How's your strength holding up while cutting Snag?
I see you are doing some low rep super sets. I believe low reps to be very important to help maintain strength during a cut. I always start with at least one 4-6 rep compound movement regardless of the training regime I am using when cutting. Even just one all out low rep set can make a huge difference to strength levels on a cut.

I also prefer low intensity cardio to high intensity cardio for maintaining strength and muscle mass during a cut. I keep my heart rate between 120-140 bpm and I like to use equipment with adjustable tension. I start with a relatively high tension but when I feel the lactic acid buildup in the muscles I turn the tension down a little which I keep doing throughout the entire session to avoid the burn/lactic acid. I do this because the presence of lactic acid means the muscles are operating without oxygen so you are now doing anaerobic training instead of aerobic. Without the presence of oxygen the fat burning process is impaired and you are likely using your ATP stores to fuel the training. During the off season this is not a big deal and will actually help to improve your lactate threshold. When restricting calories the lower intensity cardio helps me to burn fat without sacrificing my strength to the degree that high intensity cardio will. BTW you are looking great...keep tearing it up man!
 
Hey thanks for that info FOOF! Good stuff..
This is really my first time running low-intensity cardio like I have been during a prep; I'm quite digging it, and agree with your theory on why this has become preferable for me. I still intend on running sprints for the last week; I have seen the difference this makes in bringing out striations previously, so I will not deviate from that protocol. But until then, I will continue w/ the low-intensity, just every third day now instead of 1x weekly.
As for strength -- it's really been spot-on thruout this whole run. Today was the first I've stayed in that low of rep range thruout the session (new protocol for me), and I really enjoyed it. I was consistently strong thruout. I definitely think there is something to working these fibers for maintaining strength; as well, I am hoping to see some metabolic benefit. My shape looks different after one session! I now rotate 2 low-rep (upper/lower split) days w/ 2 higher-rep (same upper/lower split) days, with cardio day in between, for the next 2 weeks.
I've also began a new protocol with Prime; can't detail this yet (until I get the clearance from Jacob), but the first experiences have been extremely positive..
Everything's coming together!
 
Some supp details, just to catch everything up to speed..
I've brought back L-carnitine, upped SuperCissus to 8/daily (can't remember if I mentioned that); also added Forslean. PowerFULL dosed 3x daily (7 caps total). 8g BCAA's at bed; also began my Methyl Lean/Ripped daytime-nighttime combo. There's a 3-day acclimation period on the Ripped, so I'll continue with the 2/2 dosing on Recreate for these days. Upped the dosage of Prime as mentioned in last post. Eliminated my EVCO :( and upped my fish oil consumption. Also drinking multiple cups of decaf green tea thru day.. I think that's all the changes to date.
 
snagency said:
Hey thanks for that info FOOF! Good stuff..
This is really my first time running low-intensity cardio like I have been during a prep; I'm quite digging it, and agree with your theory on why this has become preferable for me. I still intend on running sprints for the last week; I have seen the difference this makes in bringing out striations previously, so I will not deviate from that protocol. But until then, I will continue w/ the low-intensity, just every third day now instead of 1x weekly.
As for strength -- it's really been spot-on thruout this whole run. Today was the first I've stayed in that low of rep range thruout the session (new protocol for me), and I really enjoyed it. I was consistently strong thruout. I definitely think there is something to working these fibers for maintaining strength; as well, I am hoping to see some metabolic benefit. My shape looks different after one session! I now rotate 2 low-rep (upper/lower split) days w/ 2 higher-rep (same upper/lower split) days, with cardio day in between, for the next 2 weeks.
I've also began a new protocol with Prime; can't detail this yet (until I get the clearance from Jacob), but the first experiences have been extremely positive..
Everything's coming together!
Click to expand...

Oh great now you have me doing almost all High intensity you start up with the low intensity. :rant:

I still do some low after workouts...
 
Day #43 Lower Body (Low Volume/Heavy Load)

Demolished the session today. I'm on fire fellas.. :firedevil:

10min light intensity cardio (treadmill)
BB ATG squats ss w/ DB RDL (6x4)
Leg extension ss w/ leg curl (5x5)
BB standing calf raise ss w/ DB single-leg calf raise (5x6)
10min light intensity cardio

1-1-3 tempo for training, 90sec rests. Digging the heavy weights! :p

PWO meal today (different for me): 6 organic/unsalted rice cakes, 1 bottle Isopure drink.

Nutrition today: 350/250/35 (6g from fish oil)
 
snagency said:
Hey thanks for that info FOOF! Good stuff..
This is really my first time running low-intensity cardio like I have been during a prep; I'm quite digging it, and agree with your theory on why this has become preferable for me. I still intend on running sprints for the last week; I have seen the difference this makes in bringing out striations previously, so I will not deviate from that protocol. But until then, I will continue w/ the low-intensity, just every third day now instead of 1x weekly.
As for strength -- it's really been spot-on thruout this whole run. Today was the first I've stayed in that low of rep range thruout the session (new protocol for me), and I really enjoyed it. I was consistently strong thruout. I definitely think there is something to working these fibers for maintaining strength; as well, I am hoping to see some metabolic benefit. My shape looks different after one session! I now rotate 2 low-rep (upper/lower split) days w/ 2 higher-rep (same upper/lower split) days, with cardio day in between, for the next 2 weeks.
I've also began a new protocol with Prime; can't detail this yet (until I get the clearance from Jacob), but the first experiences have been extremely positive..
Everything's coming together!
Click to expand...

Sprinting is also beneficial for spiking HGH but it has to be an all out effort. I often have people do windmill sprints for this reason. The main benefit for low intensity cardio as I described is it's easy! When I did personal training the average joe rarely stuck to a cardio program because they did not enjoy it and found it difficult. Even the best regime will fail you if you are not consistent. By reducing the tension every time you start to feel a lactic acid burn cardio becomes easy. The only real effort required is at the beginning to get your heart rate over 120. Basically the session gets easier as you go because there is less and less tension/resistance but your heart rate will stay in the low end of the aerobic zone. I have observed less strength loss with this form of cardio because it has very little impact on recovery compared to high intensity cardio. A high intensity cardio session the day before squatting compared to a low intensity cardio session the day before squatting will more negatively effect your leg training. Cumulatively over time the high intensity cardio will start to impact your other training days to a much greater degree then low intensity cardio. This makes low intensity cardio good for both cutting and bulking so you don't have to drop cardio altogether on a bulk as many people do. I am not suggesting you try this so close to your competition but if you hate cardio this is the sh!t.
 
Yeah, not a big cardio fan.. but the low-intensity thing is catching on. It's not so bad watching TV, catching up on sports and whatnot (altho I got tired of the repetitive reports on Barry Bonds this morning -- gee, he really pleaded not guilty, what a surprise.. :rolleyes:)
I figured I'll start throwing some low-intensity in surrounding my workouts; the cardio-only day (like tomorrow) will become intervals.. oh, and these days always follow leg days, not preceding them.
And all-out sprints is the only way I know how to do 'em! ;)
I leave everything I got on the ground. It's warm enough outside now (and the snow's melted here lately) that I can do these out in the street..
 
A little break in the action for some entertainment..

When I was in Jr. High, we had this kid in school named Michael Hunt. Seriously. (you know, the old joke goes: so this kid in school named Michael Hunt gets paged to the principal's office, and the gal on the school intercom goes "Mike Hunt, report to the office please.. Mike Hunt, please report to the office"..)
So, this really happened to the school I went to in 7th grade. Freaking hilarious..
What's worse than a name like Mike Hunt?? Well, I just found this..
 

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Back to your regularly scheduled programming.. hope I didn't offend any ladies following along, all in good fun.. :laugh:
 
That's hilarious, what about the guys with the last name Wiener, but pronounced Weener. We had a doctor who was treating one of out client's and when he called, he would say, "This is Dr. Weener" and it made me do a double take each time.
 
I don't know what this Dr. Wiener's first name was, but it would have been a cruel joke if his mom named him Harry or Lytle.
 
Dr. Richard (Dick) Weiner.. naah, that would be too redundant.
No sane parent would name their kid that! :lol:
But there are a lot of insane ppl in the world..
 
snagency said:
Dr. Richard (Dick) Weiner.. naah, that would be too redundant.
No sane parent would name their kid that! :lol:
But there are a lot of insane ppl in the world..
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My friend dated a girl named Eternity, her sister was named Forever and one other sibling had some far out, fell of the left side even for a hippie type of name, too. It may have been Always or something, true story.
 
Sounds like some relation to the Zappa clan..
'Moon Unit' and 'Dweezil' -- are you kidding me? :think:
Frank was an odd cat.
 
DreamWeaver said:
Seriously disturbed individual...
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Got that right. When I was a kid tho, I kinda grooved on that song "Valley Girl" for awhile. It was so unlike anything else that I'd heard back in those days..

Speaking of seriously disturbed, that about sums up the aching in my legs right about now. Wow, I'm just wrecked.. I LOVE IT! :bruce3:

Haha, I'm not jumping around like Bruce there tho.
I've got a USP demo to run at the GNC in the mall tonight; standing around talking to ppl for 3hrs is not sounding too enticing right about now, aha..
Ah well, it'll give me a chance to stretch dem wheels out.
 
No lie guys...kid in my highschool named Harry Balls. He would always yell that his name was Harold.
 
I guess the other disturbed a few people...
 
VolcomX311 said:
I don't know what this Dr. Wiener's first name was, but it would have been a cruel joke if his mom named him Harry or Lytle.
Click to expand...
Sam, I had to go back to this one for a moment, something popped into my head here a bit ago:

Dr. Abel Weiner, OBGYN..
:rofl:

Ahahaaa, that one killed me..
And with that, I'm outta here. Catch you guys on the flip side.. :run:
 
snagency said:
Sam, I had to go back to this one for a moment, something popped into my head here a bit ago:

Dr. Abel Weiner, OBGYN..
:rofl:

Ahahaaa, that one killed me..
And with that, I'm outta here. Catch you guys on the flip side.. :run:
Click to expand...

My Fiancee's Gynocologist is a huge Star Wars fan. His name is OBGY-Nobi.

:D
 
snagency said:
Day #43 Lower Body (Low Volume/Heavy Load)

Demolished the session today. I'm on fire fellas.. :firedevil:

10min light intensity cardio (treadmill)
BB ATG squats ss w/ DB RDL (6x4)
Leg extension ss w/ leg curl (5x5)
BB standing calf raise ss w/ DB single-leg calf raise (5x6)
10min light intensity cardio

1-1-3 tempo for training, 90sec rests. Digging the heavy weights! :p
Click to expand...
You've got me wanting to drop my reps into this range (4 to 6).
Lookout, freaky numbers will ensue!!! :Eyecrazy: :yikes: :firedevil:
 
Day #44 Cardio (Treadmill Intervals)

Legs were still beat down from yesterday, so I decided to forego the sprinting this morning (altho I do have to say, there's no way I should be walking around today, let alone attempting cardio -- recovery continues to be superb). So I busted out some moderate intervals on the treadmill, peaking earlier in the session to get heart rate up and then cruising midway thru to finish (ala FOOF protocol - I like this). Format was FT upon rising. Great sweat!
Followed with my BCAA/EAA & food timing protocol of course..

PWO nutrition: 2 scoops MonsterMilk, 2 rice cakes, large grapefruit, 2g fish oil (50/50/11, @500cals)

It's my higher fat/lower carb day..
Nutritional splits planned: 125/350/55 (12g fish oil)

Weight upon rising: 186.1 -- I am looking chiseled & hard after my carb day yesterday, things are really dialing in. I'm going into hiding on the pics for awhile; when I post next ones it will be on!! :D

This new Prime protocol is having some awesome effects!!
 
thundergod said:
You've got me wanting to drop my reps into this range (4 to 6).
Lookout, freaky numbers will ensue!!! :Eyecrazy: :yikes: :firedevil:
Click to expand...
Oh dude, I am thoroughly grooving on this. It's like I've added size & hardness just in my 2x running this set-up..crazy. Plus it just feels good as hell to toss some heavy shit around, I know you know what I mean! :D
 
snagency said:
A little break in the action for some entertainment..

When I was in Jr. High, we had this kid in school named Michael Hunt. Seriously. (you know, the old joke goes: so this kid in school named Michael Hunt gets paged to the principal's office, and the gal on the school intercom goes "Mike Hunt, report to the office please.. Mike Hunt, please report to the office"..)
So, this really happened to the school I went to in 7th grade. Freaking hilarious..
What's worse than a name like Mike Hunt?? Well, I just found this..
Click to expand...

Snag! I worked with a Michael Hunt on a mine site. Miners are a little like construction workers, and used to call him over the 2-way ALL the time. The guy wouldn't answer to 'Mike'....

Also, I went to school with a Dwayne Pipe, and have worked with a Wayne King :laugh:

Love the supersets BTW :bandit:
 
Snag, glad to see you're supplementing with Beverly International (BI). I supplemented with BI products during my last show, I had great results! You can check out my last show pics on my profile.

If you get a chance, try their Muscle Provider protein, Mass tabs, Density tabs or Up-lift formula. You can taste the difference in BI's protein versus crap protein on the market. Monster Milk is the only other protein that I believe is similar in taste, consistency, and quality. I love that stuff!
 
SpicyTuna said:
Snag, glad to see you're supplementing with Beverly International (BI). I supplemented with BI products during my last show, I had great results! You can check out my last show pics on my profile.
If you get a chance, try their Muscle Provider protein, Mass tabs, Density tabs or Up-lift formula. You can taste the difference in BI's protein versus crap protein on the market. Monster Milk is the only other protein that I believe is similar in taste, consistency, and quality. I love that stuff!
Btw, nice legs :)
Click to expand...
Thanks Spicy! :D Appreciate the compliment!
Yeah I've been using Bev for yrs, since like 1998 or something. Love their Mass tabs! Use to used those all the time, but now I utilize them only in serious lean buking periods. I've really trimmed down my full-spectrum amino usage from yrs past.. The density is an intriquing complex; did those last yr when they brought them back (they were around 15yrs ago before Bev discontinued them); the Uplift I've never tried. As for proteins: of course! :)
There is no doubt they have the best complexes on the market. I will switch over to Muscle Provider here for the last 2 weeks (instead of Ultra Size or MonsterMilk), and you're right - MonsterMilk is one of the few proteins that I find interchangeable w/ UltraSize.. I've used about everything Bev has put out at one time or another, quality stuff all around (some a tad bit overpriced for their uses however)..
Congrats on your placing in your show! You look awesome!
 
Snag Storm getting Primed for another beyond intense session.. :bruce2:
Today I begin to up my use of L-carnitine (1g rising/bedtime/PreWO, midday), and I take SuperCissus up another notch as well, 5 dosings of 2 per. Methyl Ripped goes to 2x2 dosing; I have run out of Recreate at the perfect time, since that was planned to go away today. I also insert another dosing of Forslean (now 3x daily). Still a couple days yet before I switch over to turkey breast from 96% lean beef (final 2 weeks).
Planned macros today: 175/300/55 (12g fish oil)
My legs are sore as Hades! Particularly in the inner thigh, mid-to-lower-to-the-knee area. It feels cool cuz I don't get sore there too often, so I'm loving it! :cool:
 
Day #45 Upper Body (High Volume/Medium Load)

Holy Phat Pumps!! :D Switching things up was just nasty ridiculous today. Ego check at the door, due to slowing everything down to a 2-1-3 tempo; I was surprised how much this wore me out. Had to drop weights on my last set of a couple exercises, most notably benches (245x12 first 2 sets, 225 x12 last set) and seated DB press (70x12 first 2 sets, 55x12 last set). The pump was quite stupid tho -- I would say possibly the best I've had thru this whole gig (and I've had a few of 'em!)..

10min low-intensity treadmill
BB bent-over rows (reverse-grip) ss w/ flat BB bench press (3x12)
Pulldowns to front (reverse-grip) ss w/ seated DB press (3x12)
BB standing curls ss w/ close-grip BB bench (3x12)
Swiss-ball crunches 5x10 (these were more difficult than you'd think w/ a 2-1-3 controlled tempo!)
 
snagency said:
Day #45 Upper Body (High Volume/Medium Load)

Holy Phat Pumps!! :D Switching things up was just nasty ridiculous today. Ego check at the door, due to slowing everything down to a 2-1-3 tempo; I was surprised how much this wore me out. Had to drop weights on my last set of a couple exercises, most notably benches (245x12 first 2 sets, 225 x12 last set) and seated DB press (70x12 first 2 sets, 55x12 last set). The pump was quite stupid tho -- I would say possibly the best I've had thru this whole gig (and I've had a few of 'em!)..

10min low-intensity treadmill
BB bent-over rows (reverse-grip) ss w/ flat BB bench press (3x12)
Pulldowns to front (reverse-grip) ss w/ seated DB press (3x12)
BB standing curls ss w/ close-grip BB bench (3x12)
Swiss-ball crunches 5x10 (these were more difficult than you'd think w/ a 2-1-3 controlled tempo!)
Click to expand...


Nice bro, i have been doing what you suggested on my legs too, and guess what....its working , so thanks a million my main man.
 
russianstar said:
Nice bro, i have been doing what you suggested on my legs too, and guess what....its working , so thanks a million my main man.
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Awesome to hear my friend! :cheers:

After glancing at your quote of my post, I realized that I failed to mention the rest periods on that particular workout were 60sec across the board; this is rotated w/ 90sec rests on the heavy days.. kind of an important point! (and also why fatigue sets in quickly) :doh:
 
Day #46 Sprint Intervals

I wasn't planning on following the program to a T, but decided to.. for now.
So, this is what today called for:

8min light intensity warmup
8 sprints (30sec max effort, 90sec walk format)
8min light intensity cooldown

Sweat was insane -- I was drenched! Mixed feelings on this particular part of the format tho, for several reasons. But if I'm gonna try to adhere to a set program, I want to give it it's due process..

Felt like I wasted my nice big breakfast tho (cardio was done 2hrs following breakfast) and the carb day scheduled for today; I typically like to hit a leg weight training session on these days..
 
All right, veering off on the diet for the next 10 days or so, doing my own thing..
I really like the diet as is, and I think if I had more time to play with (say another 4-5 weeks), that would be the dietary strategy I'd run for optimal results.
But I'm on another of my self-imposed deadlines, and I need to ratchet up the fat-loss a tad; 10 days of a keto-ish diet won't degrade my muscle stores.. as well, I feel this strategy will really set me up righteously for 'Peak Week' -- which I'll use for filling back out to peak rather than using for a last week of fat-loss. I like my plan..
So, dietary intake becomes 6 meals, 1910cals, 85/308/32 + 13g fish oil.
I'll add a 7th all-carb meal 2x weekly (SUN/THUR).
Going back to my Beverly keto roots a bit here.
 
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