Its time to Osta Shred

[Misfit28]

ugh I don't get it. My OHP is creeping closer to my bench like weekly. Seems like no matter what I've tried my bench is the snail of my progress.

Now my nemesis right now is my Squat. I'm switching to a 4x week transitional DUP block to try to get more volume and frequency, in the hopes it will help.

How many times a week do you Bench?

 

[booneman77]

Now my nemesis right now is my Squat. I'm switching to a 4x week transitional DUP block to try to get more volume and frequency, in the hopes it will help. How many times a week do you Bench?

usually twice but lately I've abandoned it in favor of db to save my shoulders a bit and try a diff stimulus

 

[booneman77]

So the last few days I've been commenting on my sleep... Last night was no exception, slept like the dead and either my alarm is only snoozing for 30min now (should be 10) or I'm hitting it 3 times without actually waking up much I have no idea but mornings have been brutal. Woke up late agin this morning so I went in for back day but was rushed so I did some supersets and then decided that I would skip deadlifts and come back this afternoon for a deads only session (totally excited about this ha).

weight has stayed about the same the last few days as well which is becoming a bit worrying as my calories are lower, but the scale is not moving much and body comp is hard to tell day to day. I will take pics and re evaluate on this front.

 

[booneman77]

Two entertaining random comments:
1) DO NOT fart in a sauna... It's awful
2) this grocery cart will get you some really strange looks

 

[tyga tyga]

Two entertaining random comments: 1) DO NOT fart in a sauna... It's awful 2) this grocery cart will get you some really strange looks <img src="http://anabolicminds.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=116667"/>

love cashew milk

 

[booneman77]

love cashew milk

same. It's so good for shakes and ice cream too.

 

[Dma378]

That grocery cart will also make for some awesome sauna farts.

 

[booneman77]

That grocery cart will also make for some awesome sauna farts.

maybe that explains the looks ha

 

[booneman77]

Finally got to the gym with time for a good workout this morning... Really crushed shoulders as I had some new techniques to try out.

Started with a zavickas press (seated, no back support bb OHP) did these in the squat rack sitting on a 45lb plate so that I could use the bottom supports as my safety spots. Went lower on the weight due to the lack of leverage and also did mostly behind the neck. These felt good and I got a solid burn. Superset with very light plate shoulder circles.

Moved on to a tri set of seated laterals, y laterals and then single arm rear delt flyes. Went for low weight, hard squeeze. Slow negatives.

Finished with a few more standard presses, raises and such just to polish them off. Shoulder pain was non existent today which was a great feeling.

Back is really nice and tight too from yesterday.

 

[booneman77]

today was leg day. lots of squats to start things off and then just other accessory work to finish. realy was feeling good contractions and focus was particularly high today. I think the full nights sleep really helped.

PWO I went into the sauna for a bit and noticed that my legs seem to be much leaner and more defined then they normally get even at very low bf level. I think this is a good sign that I have put on some legit size in them this past year as well as that I will be leaner there in the coming months.

joints are all feeling great and everyhting seems to be headed the right direction. Weight was down to 190.3lb today as well.

 

[Dma378]

My life is so incomplete without a sauna. Never used one but I can imagine the cleansing relaxing affect it must have.

 

[booneman77]

My life is so incomplete without a sauna. Never used one but I can imagine the cleansing relaxing affect it must have.

mine was as well until about a week ago. Now it's like an addiction

 

[booneman77]

Chest today. Slept in nice and late and took my time getting to the gym. Another day where I was just totally in the zone and focused. Feeling it. Weights have been feeling much more comfortable lately as well with less joint/tendon pain then usual.

Thoughts on the osta so far:
No dip in libido- if anything an increase
Strength has stayed the same or dropped very slightly
Weight is moving down slowly... Seems closer to a recomp then straight cut even with lower cals than normal
Sleep is incredible. I drop dead every night and feel like never waking up. Although I can be a tad groggy on short nights, I always feel refreshed once I'm up and moving.
Recovery seems normal. No better or worse

 

[kjscatch]

Same for me except for libido. Mine has dropped. And sleep I am just starting to notice more.

 

[booneman77]

Same for me except for libido. Mine has dropped. And sleep I am just starting to notice more.

mine has been off and on but on average a bit higher

 

[booneman77]

Travel day today. Hit a quick db arm session at the hotel gym just to get some blood moving. Heading to a real gym tomorrow morning to get back into it. Thinking I'll hit back tomorrow, shoulders Wednesday, and legs Thursday. Diet is gonna be odd as working hours are gonna be late as hell. Might be a very low cal week.

 

[puccah8808]

How did I miss this log? Will you point me to the page with the swolfies!

 

[booneman77]

How did I miss this log? Will you point me to the page with the swolfies!

that would be this page! Thanks for the reminder... Day 1(way too fat) vs day 21(ish.. Not sure)

 

[booneman77]

Workout this morning was only 30min as apparently the gym is a lot further then I thought ha. Ripped off 3 calluses too which sucked. Fresh bar deads. Apparently no one in Canada uses the barbells haha

Gonna rest up tonight and get to the gym early tomorrow to destroy legs.

 

[puccah8808]

You're looking great!!!!!! Progress is coming along great, can't wait to see the end result!

 

[Dma378]

Leaning up bro!!

 

[booneman77]

You're looking great!!!!!! Progress is coming along great, can't wait to see the end result!

Leaning up bro!!

thanks guys. Gotta really get things moving though as I gotta be at the beach for a vacation/wedding at the end of April. Gotta show off ha

 

[Dma378]

Crunch time!!

 

[tyga tyga]

Finally had a callous rip off?! Hurts like a beach huh? Lol

Nice transformation so far as well boone

 

[booneman77]

Finally had a callous rip off?! Hurts like a beach huh? Lol Nice transformation so far as well boone

haha I did but there's still like three more layers underneath so it wasn't too bad except for the one spot where it ripped so far that it hit an uncallused area.

 

[tyga tyga]

haha I did but there's still like three more layers underneath so it wasn't too bad except for the one spot where it ripped so far that it hit an uncallused area.

that's what happened to me! All fresh skin under all 5 callouses. Water burned it to touch

 

[booneman77]

that's what happened to me! All fresh skin under all 5 callouses. Water burned it to touch

yikes thats nasty. glad mine didn't get that bad.

 

[booneman77]

Leg day this morning. Didn't sleep very long last night but i was wide awake and ready to go when the alarm went off. Sleep quality seems to be greater every day regardless of length of time. Very positive effect I've noticed.

Started teh workout with a ton of squats but after that I really just wasn't feeling it. I jsut wanted to squat more and not do the accessory work ha. Ended up going through the motions but nothing crazy. Actually skipped out on a couple sets of leg press finishers because I just wasn't feeling it and felt like I was wasting my time. Guess it was just one of those days. It was interesting because the squats I was really in teh zone for and feeling every bit of the movement.

Diet today is gonna suck... just went to eat lunch and there was no meat left. nothing but a big bowl of lettuce for me ;( sad panda.

 

[booneman77]

SO as expected food was at a minimum last night... crapp choices so not enough calories eaten and it was evident this morning in the gym. I felt great when I woke up (energized, refreshed) but once I got in the gym I was just exhausted... Clearly a side effect of too few cals after a pretty solid leg day. I was bummed because I love doing shoulders but just was NOT in to it today. Ended up just kind of messing around with some lighter weights and got a decent pump and called it quits.

Feeling pretty run down from the lack of food these last few days for sure. Gonna really fuel up good once I get home tomorrow and ensure that I get some real work in over the weekend. Might even take tomorrow off entirely and just eat big and clean.

Will weigh in when I get home and then again at the beginning of next week for my next baseline.

 

[booneman77]

Decided to sleep in this morning and hit chest this afternoon instead. Had a good pump sessio but strength was atrocious so I didn't even bother trying. Just upped the reps.

I was really i tout and mood was high so I had thought about going for a longer time but I began to cramp up about 45min in so I called it a day and went to get a real meal in me.

Weight was 187 and change last night but that was very depleted and dehydrated. Will weigh in officially Monday morn.

 

[Afi140]

Looking forward to the weigh in. Also noticing some good fat loss in the pics. Keep it up man

 

[LeanEngineer]

I can definitley tell a difference in the pics! Also pumpkin pie pop tarts are the best! haaa

 

[booneman77]

I can definitley tell a difference in the pics! Also pumpkin pie pop tarts are the best! haaa

the pop tarts were a smuggling operation to GNO up in Canada ha. I have stash of my own very similar.

 

[Dma378]

Bought Cinnamon Roll Pop Tarts this morning.

 

[GNO]

the pop tarts were a smuggling operation to GNO up in Canada ha. I have stash of my own very similar.

You did a great service to a deprived CDN kid I was expecting 6 or 8 packs but got 3 x 16's. I'm stocked lol.

 

[booneman77]

Bought Cinnamon Roll Pop Tarts this morning.

they're kinda disappointing. Not much diff then regular Cinn brown sugar

 

[Dma378]

they're kinda disappointing. Not much diff then regular Cinn brown sugar

Boooo

 

[booneman77]

Boooo

that was my exact thought.

 

[booneman77]

Back day yesterday. Strength is still in the pits so again I went for reps and volume. Had a really good workout though. Been mixing formutech volatile and a little albutarex and the focus is bomb. After my workout I was gonna hit the sauna but I saw there was an open spot to play some basketball so I played a few games for some free cardio. By the end I was cramping up a bit from the tta so I went home after that.

Today I went in for Easter legs. There was nobody there so I hugged up the squat rack for a good 45 min and just blasted squats and rdl's. Finished up with some calves and accessory work then 15 min in the sauna.

Weight has been holding pretty steady around 189 since getting back so I expect that's where the official number will end up. No travel this week so diet should be easy even with the gf coming in for the end of the week and weekend.

After 4 weeks here's my analysis so far:
-minimal if any shutdown... Balls are still full sized and libido is hit or miss (normal for me when cutting)
-weight has come down but very slowly (good sign of muscle retention)
-strength has dropped standard to any cut. No apparent help from the osta here
-sleep is beyond amazing. Refreshing and deep every night
Body comp is changing but at a fairly standard rate. Nothing crazy to pin on the osta that diet wouldn't have done. One area I have noticed improvement is in my legs (these NEVER lean out for me even in single digit bf) which are showing detail they never have before. I contribute some of this to the size I had believed I out on during the fall and winter but it seems that osta is allowing some extra leaning here.

Overall, it seems the best part of osta is the muscle retention factor. I'll be dropping the tta this week which should remove some bloating and show a better picture of the true results thus far.

 

[tyga tyga]

Solid mid update Boone. I'd rather play ball then stay on a stationary bike/treadmill any day! Wish my gym wasn't just a gym

When I went to the Y, I'd play racket ball and hoop for a good 30min

 

[booneman77]

Solid mid update Boone. I'd rather play ball then stay on a stationary bike/treadmill any day! Wish my gym wasn't just a gym

When I went to the Y, I'd play racket ball and hoop for a good 30min

I love doing non cardio cardio. Rarely get the chance since moving but it's so much better for sure.

 

[Young Gotti]

Back day yesterday. Strength is still in the pits so again I went for reps and volume. Had a really good workout though. Been mixing formutech volatile and a little albutarex and the focus is bomb. After my workout I was gonna hit the sauna but I saw there was an open spot to play some basketball so I played a few games for some free cardio. By the end I was cramping up a bit from the tta so I went home after that.

Today I went in for Easter legs. There was nobody there so I hugged up the squat rack for a good 45 min and just blasted squats and rdl's. Finished up with some calves and accessory work then 15 min in the sauna.

Weight has been holding pretty steady around 189 since getting back so I expect that's where the official number will end up. No travel this week so diet should be easy even with the gf coming in for the end of the week and weekend.

After 4 weeks here's my analysis so far:
-minimal if any shutdown... Balls are still full sized and libido is hit or miss (normal for me when cutting)
-weight has come down but very slowly (good sign of muscle retention)
-strength has dropped standard to any cut. No apparent help from the osta here
-sleep is beyond amazing. Refreshing and deep every night
Body comp is changing but at a fairly standard rate. Nothing crazy to pin on the osta that diet wouldn't have done. One area I have noticed improvement is in my legs (these NEVER lean out for me even in single digit bf) which are showing detail they never have before. I contribute some of this to the size I had believed I out on during the fall and winter but it seems that osta is allowing some extra leaning here.

Overall, it seems the best part of osta is the muscle retention factor. I'll be dropping the tta this week which should remove some bloating and show a better picture of the true results thus far.

i'm liking the 4 week analysis

 

[booneman77]

Official weight this morning was 190.1 so nothing much lost last week which is surprising/disappointing as I had much less food then I would have liked. That said, I felt like i look better last night then I have in awhile so that could be a psitive sign. We will see for sure once the TTA wears off around end of this week/beginning of next.

Took this morning of form the gym to sleep in a bit as I felt like I needed it. Might hit a quick arm session this afternoon or just call it an off day which I haven't had in awhile.

 

[Jackedjack]

Don't go off scale weight, do you look tighter yet bigger? You could be gaining muscle while losing some fat

 

[Dma378]

I hate the scale. So deceptive.

 

[Jackedjack]

I know how you feel. When I was cutting for my first comp as a teen (bodybuilding not powerlifting), I was somehow not losing any weight for two weeks, but when I measured body fat using one of the pod things, I had lost 2%bf

 

[booneman77]

Don't go off scale weight, do you look tighter yet bigger? You could be gaining muscle while losing some fat

Ya the osta is more than likely keeping my weight up while body comp changes. I usually drop 10-15lb in the first couple weeks of any diet and considering I put on more lean mass this year than any before I would venture to guess that I should burn more too so that must be. Hoping I'll hit 10% around 180 this year which would be 10-12lb more then last yr. trest man. Stuff is legit.

 

[mgkoret]

I actually gained 4lbs while cutting on osta. No complaints at all on that hah. Incthe middle of pct and thungs are great.

 

[booneman77]

I actually gained 4lbs while cutting on osta. No complaints at all on that hah. Incthe middle of pct and thungs are great.

Osta pct? what are you running?

 

[booneman77]

Was feeling good yesterday after work so I hit a quick 30min arm session and got a nice little pump. All supersets so intensity was high throughout.

This morning was chest... had plenty of time as I woke up and popped right out of bed so I really got to hammer away. DB press, cable flyes, HS incl press, Incl smith press, and a finisher of machine flyes and presses. Made sure to really focus on the muscle and not the weight today. I feel like this might be the key to getting some improved growth vs just going for strength as I find that often times my supporting muscles are as sore as my chest after a "big" day.