breezy's training, supplementation, and food log

Throwback to 2011, which was a very tough time in my life. Early in the year, I began feeling a little sluggish, but didn't think much of it at the time. Over the next couple of months, my energy, strength, and weight began to decline rapidly, despite no changes in diet or daily activity.

I had visited a few doctors and specialists at this point; however, they couldn't find anything wrong. I continued trying to go about my life, but got to the point where I struggled to get up from a sitting position and stairs were my worst enemy.

I was admitted to the hospital, where it was determined that my body wasn't absorbing food due to some unknown GI issue. This also caused many other systems in my body to start shutting down. After weeks in a hospital bed, and what seemed like hundreds of tests, the exact cause remained unknown, but the weight loss had stopped.

I ended up losing about 50lbs in a couple months, along with many years of training progress. A couple months later, I made the decision to get myself back in the gym and start building back what I'd lost. I was lifting the same weights that I did at 14 years old, if that, but I remained positive and kept making progress at a steady pace.

Thankfully, with the help of muscle memory, I was able to gain back and eventually surpass, the muscle and strength that I'd lost within a few years. It was a long road, but I'm currently healthy and close to the best shape of my life.

The top left pic is June 2011, when I first got back in the gym, and the top right is after 2 months of consistent training. The bottom pics are both from this month.

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breezy11 said:
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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I know... however Select has not let me down yet. I have never been a fan of Cookies and Cream either.. and it is great.

I figured, if I didnt like it, I'd use it for ice cream and baking.. ;)

Edit: Hell of a transformation.
 
Incredible motivation there. Goes to show how much hard work can do for anyone regardless of the struggles
 
wasme said:
I know... however Select has not let me down yet. I have never been a fan of Cookies and Cream either.. and it is great.

I figured, if I didnt like it, I'd use it for ice cream and baking.. ;)

Edit: Hell of a transformation.
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Thanks Simon.
 
booneman77 said:
Incredible motivation there. Goes to show how much hard work can do for anyone regardless of the struggles
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Thanks dude. I got back in the gym with my physique and strength worse than before I originally started lifting, but at least I had "newbie gains" to help get progress going at a decent pace.
 
Agree with all, that's a great story and transformation.
 
The official launch of modernathletichealth.com is tomorrow; however, content is already being loaded to the site.

Here's a quick tip to help fully activate the chest.

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Here's a short piece on targeting the middle-back.

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Diet/Death Face" update: These were taken about 1.5 weeks apart. The closer I get to my goal, the scarier I look.

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Decided to test out my ice cream making skills for the first time in over a year. So creamy, and so delicious.

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Conditioning check at the gym yesterday morning, as the lighting at home isn't good. Abs are somewhat watery from various forms of yhcl (oral and topical), but look on track.

P.S. I wouldn't take a pic like this on the gym floor, if anyone else was around lol.

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wasme said:
Ha! No wonder the forwards were afraid to go into the corners ;)
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Lol. Apparently my face has sunken in quite a bit more in the last couple of days...I can't make eye contact with anyone without them mentioning it ha.
 
Absolutely amazing progress!!

How do you make that ice cream? Looks amazing!
 
clown007 said:
Absolutely amazing progress!!

How do you make that ice cream? Looks amazing!
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Thanks man.

I make it in ziploc bags. I can get it to come out like actual ice cream, as opposed to soft serve or ice chips that I see a lot of people make. If you go to the "cooking with whey" thread, my recipe should be on the first page. If you try it, take the ice cream bag out and "massage" it as it starts to freeze (do it a few times), so you can get a perfect consistency throughout the batch.
 
HS Front Pulldown: I'm a big fan of Hammer Strength equipment, particularly the front pulldown machine when it comes to working the lats. Another plus of the HS equipment, is how bands can easily be set up on most for some added intensity.


I did 3 different variations on this machine, this being the first (I'll post the others as well).


Drive both elbows down, keep your chest up, and flex hard at the bottom of the movement. Now, keep one elbow at the bottom and hold/flex your lat in the contracted position while performing 3 reps on the opposite side. Keep repeating, alternating the working side, 3 reps at a time. The increasing band tension towards the bottom of the movement leads to a very strong contraction on each rep and during the iso-hold.


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HS Front Pulldown (2): The previous video focused on alternating iso-holds, while this approach alternates stretching the lats.

I chose to stick with added band resistance to intensify the contraction at the bottom of the movement and the stretch at the top.

Work one side at a time, while letting your lat on the non-working side stretch. Keep your chest up, drive your elbow down, and flex your lower lat as hard as you can at the bottom. You can vary the number of reps done per side at once, but I chose to repeat 4R/4L.

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HS Front Pulldown (3): Here's the third and final variation done with this machine, during yesterday's back session. This was used last, as it provides an outstanding stretch and really opens up the lats. I stuck with the added band resistance here as well, which helped increase the strength of the contraction and stretch.

Grab the outsides of the machines arms with a neutral grip, as opposed to holding the handles with a supinated grip. Lean forward with your upper abdominals on the support pad, feet way back behind you, and toes on the ground. Keep your chest up (your positioning will help this), drive your elbows down, and flex hard at the bottom. Control the eccentric and let your lats open up at the top as you focus on feeling them stretch.

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I had a session dedicated entirely to shoulder work this morning, which is something I very rarely do.

This is just a standing lateral raise machine. More often than not, I'll go a little "heavy" and use a partial range of motion. If not, I'll start with full reps and transition to "swings" as my delts fatigue. I do these facing the machine and facing away from it, which allows me to put more emphasis on both the side and rear delts.

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Here's some more of today's shoulder work, focusing on the rear delts.

Band Resisted Bent-Over Dumbbell Laterals/Band Bent-Over Laterals: Either of these are solid on their own, but I combined them to continue working the muscle once form stated to break with the dumbbells.

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Standing Reverse Machine Shoulder Press: I work this machine into my training fairly often; however, very rarely use it how it was originally intended to be used. I do these "reverse" while seated, but favor the standing position, due to the strong contraction of the traps that comes from being able to duck your head at the top of the movement.

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Been following along on Instagram. These tips/vids are literally the only thing I fire that app up for ha.

Ive been having some shoulder issues the last month or so in one shoulder that hurts when I do any type of Ohp or most machine presses... I've been sticking to just doubling my lateral raises to get my volume but was wondering if you had any other suggestions?
 
booneman77 said:
Been following along on Instagram. These tips/vids are literally the only thing I fire that app up for ha.

Ive been having some shoulder issues the last month or so in one shoulder that hurts when I do any type of Ohp or most machine presses... I've been sticking to just doubling my lateral raises to get my volume but was wondering if you had any other suggestions?
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Ha glad you like them man.

I actually don't use pressing movements very often; about once every 4 times I train shoulders (train them twice a week), and I've seen my best development that way.

When I do add them, they are usually the last movement. At that point the shoulders are fully warmed up and somewhat fatigued, so it doesn't take much weight for the exercise to be effective. I also had a shoulder issue a few months back and the only pressing movement that I could do comfortably was the standing reverse machine press that I posted a video of. I believe that being able to press forward, as opposed to pressing straight up, helped.
 
Elbows Out Extensions: Grab dumbbells, lean back on something for support (with your feet on the ground ), start with the dumbbells above your head, slowly lower the inside head of them to your chest while keeping your elbows out, and then raise them back up following the same path you took on the way down. I usually do these for sets of 8-10.


Banded Bodyweight Extensions: Put a band around your back and looped around your thumbs. Place your hands close together on whatever you are using for support. Push off, using the outsides of your hands in a similar fashion to a push-up. Lower yourself slowly, feeling the tension in your triceps. Pump these out with constant tension to failure.

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Smith Triceps Extensions: This is a solid movement that I picked up from mountaindog1. I'd recommend doing these at the end of your tricep work, once your elbows/joints are fully warmed up.

Set up an incline bench in a Smith machine at around a 45 degree angle. Grab the bar with a close grip (inside of shoulder width) and slowly lower it towards your nose with a 3 second eccentric. Pause for a second at the bottom as your triceps stretch, and then press up to just shy of *******. It's ok to let your elbows flare a bit. The majority of the time, I prefer staying in the 8-10 rep range , but will occasionally add a set of 2 of 6 reps, at the end. Bands can used for some added intensity.

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Some much needed carbs from Saturday. I won't be seeing any again until I start loading on Wednesday. This brown rice pasta and 99%ff ground turkey meal was one that I ate while testing a loading strategy over 2 days.

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I was going to hold off on posting any pics until after the show, or at least until carbed up and dried out, but here's a back shot. This was taken cold in the morning. Posing is bad too, as its a selfie on a timer lol.

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Conditioning should be on point, which will be needed due to being smaller. Glutes look like they've come in and everything else should be very tight (including little wrinkles on low back being gone), if all goes as planned.
 
All checked in and carbing up a bit before the stage.

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Good luck!
 
Thanks guys. I ended up 6th I believe in a class of 30+. I knew I'd be small for my height so I made it my goal to bring my best conditioning to date and hopefully the best in the class. Mission accomplished, but it wasn't enough to make up for my lack of size. Pushing hard to get conditioning on point also made it nearly impossible to fill back out. I had 1200-1500g each of the last 3 days before the comp, along with a fat load on Friday night, but it just wasn't enough. If I could go back, I'd start carb loading about a week out, as I look a lot better today after another day of eating a ridiculous amount of food. Either way, lesson learned and it was a great experience overall. Despite still not feeling great (my body took a beating) I got back in the gym today and won't be stepping back on stage agin until I add a good amount of size.
 
I'll post some stage pics once they are available.
 
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