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breezy's training, supplementation, and food log

Here's some rest-pause style Smith rows from today's back session. I worked up to a heavy 6 and then did 4 sets with that weight. The final set included a drop with constant tension reps. I went heavier than I had in a long time and form slipped a bit towards the end, but I still got a strong contraction and didn't feel like I wasted reps.

3rd and 4th sets:
[video]https://youtu.be/pkF7mzjzbsw[/video]
 
wasme said:
On the 4th set are you hands closer together? or the same...
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It's just the different camera angle. I think my grip was about an inch or 2 outside of knees on all sets. I do change the grip width and angle I bend over at depending on what area I want to put more emphasis on though.
 
Not looking good for our Bruins Matt. Ottawa winning today was a blow to us. Only hope now is Buffalo beating the Pens, and us beating T Bay... not good...
 
wasme said:
Not looking good for our Bruins Matt. Ottawa winning today was a blow to us. Only hope now is Buffalo beating the Pens, and us beating T Bay... not good...
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Not looking good at all. I don't see it going too well if they do get in.
 
I trained leg this morning. Energy has been down a bit due to a large drop in calories and lower carbs, but training has been going pretty well. After holding weight for a while and establishing a new set point, the plan is to tighten up before continuing to add size. I'll probably bring cals back up in the beginning of May and keep them high until around the end of July, when I start prep for a comp at the end of October.


Here's some leg press work from today's session. I worked up with sets of 15 (adding a plate per side each set) using constant tension until I got to moderately tough 15. For the final set, I picked up the pace a bit and shot for 40-50 reps using the same weight that I left off with and short breaks when needed. I believe that I tapped out at 45 reps.

[video]https://youtu.be/KTsR1O15Fv8[/video]
 
I was asked by Alexander Cortes for some insight on something he's writing an article about. Pretty cool, coming from someone who's writing I admire.
 
I've had a busy couple weeks, as I started working weekend nights. Free time is limited, but I should be back to posting more frequently this week. I'll be training back today and will try to grab a video of a couple things.
 
breezy11 said:
I was asked by Alexander Cortes for some insight on something he's writing an article about. Pretty cool, coming from someone who's writing I admire.
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Thats awesome Matt!
 
I've been feeling like crap for the last few days. People I'm around daily had been sick for the last week, so it's not too surprising. I've been training, but am going to take tonight off since I'll be working late already.
 
breezy11 said:
I've been feeling like crap for the last few days. People I'm around daily had been sick for the last week, so it's not too surprising. I've been training, but am going to take tonight off since I'll be working late already.
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Man, its been a rough few months for you. Get better
 
booneman77 said:
Man, its been a rough few months for you. Get better
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Thanks man. This shouldn't last too long. The person I probably got it from was sick for about a week. Beats 3 months.
 
My mini diet is going well. I'm taking an approach that I haven't previously and it's been quite effective so far. It involves a pretty large deficit on most days, a big emphasis on nutrient timing, macro manipulation, re-feeds/cheats (both with specific cal/macro targets), and biofeedback determining when and where certain changes are made. This isn't a type of diet that should be used for a long period of time (like an entire prep), as it would eventually lead to muscle loss; however, it is working great for my short term goal (may use it again to kick off prep). I'm dropping fat at a fast pace (1mm+ belly fat on calipers per week, which is a trouble spot) without noticeable loss in LBM and should have improved insulin sensitivity/nutrient partitioning and be primed for growth when I raise calories in the next couple of weeks.



Here's a few exercise from this morning's arm session:

BB Curls with forced rep negatives: tough 8 reps + 3 forced reps with 5 count eccentric
[video]https://youtu.be/CmuQgAoYkiM[/video]



Banded Hammer Curls
[video]https://youtu.be/6I8Eq5rPawc[/video]



V-Bar Pushdows (extended set): tough 8 reps, count to 10, 6 reps, count to 10, 4 reps
[video]https://youtu.be/H9nhSw7mo-w[/video]



Seated Dip Machine with single arm eccentric: using one arm during the eccentric portion of the movement, then finishing with both to failure
[video]https://youtu.be/19K8stDBBEs[/video]
 
wasme said:
Glad to hear the mini diet is on point! You are the master that's for sure.
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Thanks man. I'm far from a master at anything, but am always trying to gain experience and learn more.
 
Here's a set from this morning's leg session that lasted a tough 4+ minutes. I was a little nervous going into it, but that's a reoccurring feeling on primary leg days; if someone isn't, there's a good chance they should question how hard they truly train.


Banded Smith Squats (rest-pause double drop set): I worked up to a somewhat tough 12 reps, and then did what is shown in the video for my final set. 3 of my biggest training influences are Meadows, Dante Trudel, and Milos Sarcev; their methods have all had a part in how I've been structuring my training lately.

[video]https://youtu.be/8DUHzT6IA7I[/video]
 
Damn homie!!! Intense for sure.

Going to give that a try in the future.

If you weren't on your mini-cut, what would your post-workout meal look like following a leg session like this? And since you are doing a mini-cut, what did the meal look like?
 
kbayne said:
Damn homie!!! Intense for sure.

Going to give that a try in the future.

If you weren't on your mini-cut, what would your post-workout meal look like following a leg session like this? And since you are doing a mini-cut, what did the meal look like?
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Yeah, I needed a little break after that.

It would depend on where I'm at with my gaining phase, current macros, and overall intake. Based on those and other factors it could be anything from a big bowl of cereal with egg whites/select or isolate for milk, chicken/turkey/beef and rice, ground meat (different fat contents) with pasta, pancakes, pizza, burger, etc. Sometimes I'll have a free meal or controlled cheat with a caloric ceiling after a heavy leg day (especially when caloric intake is around 6000). More often than not it'll be something healthy though (meat and rice). Yesterday, I had 98% ground chicken and pasta, which was a free meal and higher carb day (220g). I'll probably have a decent jump in cals on Sunday after legs and have pizza or a burger to try and help convince my body that it's not starving to death lol. Today, I'll have ground chicken, veggies, and a cup of rice after chest/shoulders.
 
I've been incorporating more rest-pause sets and loaded stretches in my training lately. Here's an example of what I did for triceps during today's arm session.



Rope Pushdowns: The 1st 2 sets were a tough 8 reps with a hard flex at the bottom of each, followed by a 15 count, and then constant tension reps to failure. For the 3rd set, a 15 count loaded stretch was added between the full ROM and constant tension reps. On the final set, there was a 20 count loaded stretch after the first half of the set and a 30 count stretch after the second.


3rd set:
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4th set
[video]https://youtu.be/r95M81Or7U4[/video]
 
I trained legs this morning on 3 hours sleep, which was rough, especially after being very low cal and carb for a while. That said, I'm thankfully having 650g carbs today. I'll return to a caloric deficit tomorrow, but it won't be as large as it's been for the last few weeks. The plan is to add about 500 cals per week over the next month as I transition back to a caloric surplus.



Lying Leg Curls
4 sets of 8



DB Stiff Legged Deads
4 sets of 12

-final set was a double drop with loaded stretches: 12 +30 count hold in stretched position ---> 8 +30 count hold in stretched position ---> 8 +30 count hold in stretched position



Banded Hack Squats
4 sets of 8 (7 on final set) with a slow eccentric and constant tension

4th set:

[video]https://youtu.be/o54UmH4xpR8[/video]



Sissy Squats
4 sets of 8


Leg Extensions
4 sets of 15 + 15 count + 6
 
500 cals a week... You sir are a monster.

I've been doing some of the loaded stretched he last few workouts as well and am now obsessed with them. The pump is incredible.
 
booneman77 said:
500 cals a week... You sir are a monster.

I've been doing some of the loaded stretched he last few workouts as well and am now obsessed with them. The pump is incredible.
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If I went any slower I'd never get to a caloric surplus before starting prep in August ha. I don't do the super slow reverse diet, especially if I haven't been dieting for long. Some people come out of a show and spend forever raising cals very slowly and getting back to maintenance when they could take a more aggressive, but intelligent approach, and be up about 15lbs+ from stage weight and still super lean in about a month.

Nice. I've done them occasionally for a while, but am enjoying planning them in more consistently. I'm excited to see how it goes once cals are up a bit.
 
This morning's chest/shoulder session went well. I started my chest work with "push-in push-ups" (posted a video of these supersetted with db hex press a few week's ago), which I've been doing a lot recently. It's a great way to get every fiber in your chest activated/firing and establish a strong mind-muscle connection, which I've found carries over to the chest work that follows, leading to a highly effective session.


Here's the second exercise that was done, which felt amazing due to an outstanding mind-muscle connection:

Banded HS MTS Incline Press
-4 sets of 6 with a drop and stretch pushups on the final set

[video]https://youtu.be/5WkWsLj8ddo[/video]
 
I'm going to have to try adding those push in push ups for a chest warmup. I've always had a poor mm connection with chest far beyond any other muscle group.
 
booneman77 said:
I'm going to have to try adding those push in push ups for a chest warmup. I've always had a poor mm connection with chest far beyond any other muscle group.
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It's definitely worth a shot. I've been trying to solve the same problem for a couple years and can finally feel my upper chest being worked like it should. I've had a couple people start trying this recently as well, and they both said it helps get their chest firing effectively and makes a very noticeable difference with the exercises that follow.
 
Here's a few exercise from the last couple days of training.


Dead-Stop Smith Rows: rest-pause set with constant tension drop
[video]https://youtu.be/6iEiUlvOO_4[/video]




Close Neutral Grip Pulldowns: ascending set
[video]https://youtu.be/djFEBX6f00s[/video]





Bulgarian Split Squat/Single Leg Extension: superset with hard stretch
[video]https://youtu.be/wY-0esKEoKE[/video]
 
I've been feeling pretty awful for the last 4 days or so; big headache, trouble breathing and sleeping, cough, blood shot eyes, etc. I think the pretty extreme change in weather recently could have something to do with it. Either way, it sucks. I've been able to train, but will take tonight off after working 12+ hours. On the plus side, I'm filling out and up 5lbs+ in the last week since starting to bring cals up.
 
breezy11 said:
I've been feeling pretty awful for the last 4 days or so; big headache, trouble breathing and sleeping, cough, blood shot eyes, etc. I think the pretty extreme change in weather recently could have something to do with it. Either way, it sucks. I've been able to train, but will take tonight off after working 12+ hours. On the plus side, I'm filling out and up 5lbs+ in the last week since starting to bring cals up.
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Oh Christ. I read that as coughing up blood. Glad that wasn't the case.

Are you in front of the computer for those 12+ hours/have allergies?
 
gokix811 said:
Oh Christ. I read that as coughing up blood. Glad that wasn't the case.

Are you in front of the computer for those 12+ hours/have allergies?
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Ha I'm hacking up all kinds of stuff, but no blood. That's not always the case when I blow my nose though. :)

I'm in front of a computer for a good amount of the day. I don't normally have allergy issues, but I think that's what's going on. Ever since the daytime temp shot up 40 degrees, everything is coated in pollen.
 
804 said:
Hope you feel better bud, congrats on the weight gain on a lighter note
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Thanks man. Unfortunately, I'm feeling worse. Slept (off and on) until 11am, went to work late, and probably won't train after. Maybe a quick arm session if I can get to the gym by 9:30.
 
breezy11 said:
Thanks man. Unfortunately, I'm feeling worse. Slept (off and on) until 11am, went to work late, and probably won't train after. Maybe a quick arm session if I can get to the gym by 9:30.
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Maybe your body is trying to tell you something, Matt.
 
gokix811 said:
Maybe your body is trying to tell you something, Matt.
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Yeah, I think it's telling me I need a vacation (won't happen anytime soon though :( ). Working until around 3am and going to bed at 4am on the weekends for the last month plus hasn't helped either. I already called off the gym tonight, as I wouldn't be able to go to sleep until after 12 at the earliest.
 
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