ebomb, you’re looking great. You’re starting from a great position and are gonna be shredded come contest day. Next year, I definitely plan on starting from a lean point like you.
Thanks Thoughts!
My goal is really just to be as shredded as possible…condition seems to always be the deciding factor at Natty Shows, so I feel that if I can get that on point, I will do well.
Wow! Great work, whole physique is pretty balanced but the quad sweep is just ridiculous. At about the same height as me this is something for me to work towards in the next couple of years! To maintain the leanness you displayed at the start of your dieting do you just rely on an on-point diet or are you a fan of cardio of any type? Personally I’m hoping adding fasted-morning cardio is a good way to keep lean if you still have tons of mass to gain, like me.
[quote]jake_j_m wrote:
Wow! Great work, whole physique is pretty balanced but the quad sweep is just ridiculous. At about the same height as me this is something for me to work towards in the next couple of years! To maintain the leanness you displayed at the start of your dieting do you just rely on an on-point diet or are you a fan of cardio of any type? Personally I’m hoping adding fasted-morning cardio is a good way to keep lean if you still have tons of mass to gain, like me.[/quote]
Well, I’m working with Layne on diet and cardio, so I’m not gonna say too much on that topic, but I am doing cardio 4 times/week and not that much at this point.
Personally, I believe in increasing cardio as slowly as possible and rather relying on changes in the diet to increase fat loss.\
Thanks for the comments!
Thanks for the reply, that does seem to be quite a recurring answer, did you previously like to set yourself some sort of “cardio allowance” in order to stay lean then or have you found it to be not needed with the right diet changes?
[quote]jake_j_m wrote:
Thanks for the reply, that does seem to be quite a recurring answer, did you previously like to set yourself some sort of “cardio allowance” in order to stay lean then or have you found it to be not needed with the right diet changes?[/quote]
Is your question related to what I did normally in the offseason regarding cardio?
When getting lean in the past, I have really tried to manipulate the diet instead of adding cardio…I did a mini-cut a while back, and the most cardio I was doing/week was 4, 40 minute sessions, and I was getting lean on that.
As for the offseason, I really don’t do much cardio at all, I just don’t ever get too fat. I hit around 235 this offseason (although that’s not huge), I was still pretty lean.
ebomb, were you working with Layne for the off-season or just started working with him for this prep?
Now that I actually have a goal to work towards (future contests) instead of just ‘bulking’ up for the winter, I definitely plan on staying leaner during the off season. Can you give us some insight on how you do that? Obviously, you said above you don’t do cardio, but what does your diet look like?
[quote]thoughts1053 wrote:
ebomb, were you working with Layne for the off-season or just started working with him for this prep?
Now that I actually have a goal to work towards (future contests) instead of just ‘bulking’ up for the winter, I definitely plan on staying leaner during the off season. Can you give us some insight on how you do that? Obviously, you said above you don’t do cardio, but what does your diet look like?[/quote]
I actually did work with him for while during my offseason, but the way I ate during that is similar to how I always ate. He definitely helped me understand some things differently though.
Here’s how I would outline a typical offseason diet for me:
500 grams carbs, 300 grams protein, 80-90 grams of fat
I would divide the above into 5-6 total meals, with the bulk of my carbs coming in the pre/post workout meals and peri-workout nutrition. By bulk, I mean, pre/post WO meals are around 100 grams each and I am taking in around 80-100 grams during of Waxy Maize, Karbolyn, or similar substance.
I’d then divide the remaining macros throughout the day.
As for food selections, which I personally believe make a big difference in the offseason, these are essentially the exact same as they would be if I were dieting.
Carbs: Sweet potatoes, potatoes, rice varieties, Ezekiel bread products, pasta varieties
Protein: Eggs, egg whites, chicken, top round, lean ground beef, fat free greek yogurt
Fats: Natural almond/peanut butters, olive oil, fish oil, butter
That’s pretty much it. I will increase macros if necessary.
My goal after my contest is to increase slowly, not binge, and get back up to these levels or hopefully higher come next Winter.
Hope this answers your question.
Few updates on supplementation.
My current peri-workout protocol is the following:
2 scoops MGs powdered muscle, 35 grams BCAAs, 4 grams beta alanine…if it’s a high carb day, I’ll add in 35 grams of Vitargo, 6 grams HMB
I also take my DAA, stining nettle, and DIM with my pre-workout cocktail : ).
This is working well at the moment.
I also am learning how to flex my legs better, here is a pic:
Legs are looking pretty sick!!
[quote]ebomb5522 wrote:
Few updates on supplementation.
My current peri-workout protocol is the following:
2 scoops MGs powdered muscle, 35 grams BCAAs, 4 grams beta alanine…if it’s a high carb day, I’ll add in 35 grams of Vitargo, 6 grams HMB
I also take my DAA, stining nettle, and DIM with my pre-workout cocktail : ).
This is working well at the moment.
I also am learning how to flex my legs better, here is a pic:
[/quote]
Man im your age and my legs don’t look nearly that good lol.
nice dude.
looking really good
[quote]ebomb5522 wrote:
I also am learning how to flex my legs better, here is a pic:
[/quote]
Much better way of showing your legs!
Thanks for the comments guys!
Just wanted to give a quick update.
My bodyweight yesterday morning was 213 and 215 PW today. My pics looked good this week, and I will post new ones next week. Training is going very well, still matching/hitting PRs that were set when I weighed 230-235. You can read my log for more info about my training, but just for clarification, here is my split:
Sunday: Arms
Monday: Legs
Tuesday: Cardio
Wednesday: Chest/Calves + SS cardio
Thursday: Back
Friday: Shoulders + SS cardio
Saturday: Cardio
I usually hit calves 2-3 times/week, on leg day and then either chest + shoulder or back + shoulder day.
Ebomb, im not sure if you’re still doing this, but i remember you posting that you used to lift early in the morning, like 6 or 7 am? I was wondering how you structured your day when you did that. Like what time did you go to bed, wake up in the morning and how much nutrtion did you have before hand? ive been toying with the idea of getting my lifting done before 8 am. which would probably mean arriving at the gym around 6: 30 or a bit before.
[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:
Ebomb, im not sure if you’re still doing this, but i remember you posting that you used to lift early in the morning, like 6 or 7 am? I was wondering how you structured your day when you did that. Like what time did you go to bed, wake up in the morning and how much nutrtion did you have before hand? ive been toying with the idea of getting my lifting done before 8 am. which would probably mean arriving at the gym around 6: 30 or a bit before.[/quote]
From late August-December, I was training primarily at 6:30 AM every day during the week, and would train at a more normal time on the weekends. I usually woke up between 4 and 4:30, had some oats, protein powder, and peanut butter, and then would head to the gym around 5:45-6:00, getting there somewhere between 6:30-6:45.
I usually went to bed between 10-11, I never saw a problem with a lack of sleep. I really enjoy training in the morning, even if it’s not always optimal. I made very good gains during that time period also.
One note, I always tried to give myself at least 1.5 hours between when I ate first thing and when I started training (hence waking up around 4). That’s pretty much it. Any other questions, let me know!
^^ Dedication. Respect.