How I Train, Eat, and Think About Stuff

Training
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ParA: that food log with all the carbs. First glance: it’s around 800-900 grams per day! Not to mention the fat-protein. I wonder why young folk these days are unable to gain with their abysmal diet and horrible training.

Your early-day training looks solid, with no BS, just the bare basics to bone. No wonder you’ve built an awesome foundation. Looks plenty of volume though, especially for a total body attack. :o)

I’m all familiar with the hectic way of moving or renovating a just-bought house. Lot of moving stuff, cleaning, running around to toolware stores, basically from dawn till dusk without pause, and it’s not just one day, but many-many more.

And all that travelling for you too. I’ve always found it to be the hardest to travel in a car, I simply hate it. Though Schweizer landscape must be better than the flat eastern-european steppe, lol.

Anyway, cheers!

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What kind of condidtion where you in with that amount cals? Training with lots of volume/ alot? Course using the weights you were has to put some stress on the body for recovery. You eat a lot less now right? Of course now because your prepping. ANyways thats awesome i cant wait to have beeen in the game long enough to look back at things like that. Cant wait to see how the rest of this prep goes for you. Love this log

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PA - Really appreciate the time you take to write your thoughts out on here with everything going on in your life. I’ve been on vacation these last few weeks so its easy for me to get everything done… But even when I’m in full swing at work I’m nowhere near as busy as you.

That must have been awesome going back and finding that old training log. Every now and then I find some “relic of the past” and it really takes me back.

Its amazing what people can get done when they budget their time well and prioritize certain things, isnt it?

I’m sure you will get everything with your father wrapped up nicely, you seem like the kind of guy that gets the job done.

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I had a lot to catch up on this thread after not checking it for awhile but I will say one thing:

This the most motivating thread on bodybuilding, lifting and life I’ve ever read and is my number 1 reference point to stop myself ever thinking that “only so much” can be done as a natural lifter. You’ve quite frankly smashed any limitations I may have thought possible to bits. I have a very long road ahead of me but if I can get my lifts and physique to within even 3/4 of yours, I will have gone further then I originally may have ever thought possible.

Questions seem a little redundant considering the wealth of information already published by you, however, I was wondering a couple of things.

When you perform the “main lifts” what sort of technique set-up wise are you using? For example do you bench with the thibs shrugged traps method, squat with an olympic stance, shoes and depth and deadlift strapped or mixed grip ? I love the main lifts and you are one of the best examples of using them to their full potential as a bodybuilder. What are your thoughts on belts/beltless? You may have said earlier you lift beltless iirc?

Anything else you’d tell yourself training wise when speaking to the 20-year-old version of yourself? I’m trying my best to train “smart” for my age.

Oh yeah, your lifts are stupidly motivational. Thanks again PA

325

Wow,… I’ve found old training journals of mine in my parents’ basement as well. Always very cool to look at what exercises, approaches, and especially weights I used to make use of. I went through a phase when I was in Grad school where I was doing very low volume work, and I had a black and white photo of Yates taped inside the back cover of my training notebook. During sets I would open the book in front of me so I could see the pic, and the questions I had written under it in sharpie: “How much pain are you willing to endure?!”

Damn I was a meathead! -lol

S

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Excellent thread here.

A++++++++

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[quote]ryanbCXG wrote:
What kind of condidtion where you in with that amount cals? Training with lots of volume/ alot? Course using the weights you were has to put some stress on the body for recovery. You eat a lot less now right? Of course now because your prepping. ANyways thats awesome i cant wait to have beeen in the game long enough to look back at things like that. Cant wait to see how the rest of this prep goes for you. Love this log[/quote]

Well, my condition towards the end of my intitial bulk was all but good. My abs were hardly visible anymore and I had to lose so much weight for my first contest I thought I was going to die. It was so hard. Afer that I decided not to repeat the bulk/cut scheme anymore and tried to gain as clean as possible. It worked well for me and there was even a time when I never went away more than 10 to 12 pounds from contest shape weight.

I do eat much less today, in as well as off season.
One thing I learned from Bill Phillips (I know, many in here hate the man, but he certainly did some great work in his early years with MM2K) is, that most people eat too much damn food, but don’t focus on nutrient enough. I am a strong believer in the saying “a calorie is NOT a calorie” and try to eat high quality, nutrient-dense, healthy foods in the right combination at all times.

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[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
PA - Really appreciate the time you take to write your thoughts out on here with everything going on in your life. I’ve been on vacation these last few weeks so its easy for me to get everything done… But even when I’m in full swing at work I’m nowhere near as busy as you.

That must have been awesome going back and finding that old training log. Every now and then I find some “relic of the past” and it really takes me back.

Its amazing what people can get done when they budget their time well and prioritize certain things, isnt it?

I’m sure you will get everything with your father wrapped up nicely, you seem like the kind of guy that gets the job done. [/quote]

Hey man!

Thank you for posting. “On vacation these last few weeks” sounds so cool and makes me jealous. Hope you are fully recovered and motivated to hit the gym again.

The thing about prioritizing things is so true. How many people complain about not having time to work out or eat right? The use it as an excuse why they are fat, or at least terribly out of shape.
I really have no beef with people not working out. It’s a very personal desicion and if someone does not see a reason to work out and is happy carrying around a beer belly, that’s so totally ok with me. The thing is, most people are not happy with the way the look of feel, most people even feel a bit ashamed for their way of living, their lack of discipline and drive and focus and dedication.
The first step one has to make is to take a conscious desicion to change. Without that, you’re not going anywhere. And after that, one has to prioritizes things. It’s so very simple, yet the hardest thing to do.
The people who complain about not having time to work out; how many of them are watching TV for hours every single day? But they don’t find the time to hit the gym 3 days a week for an hour each. It’s rarly a lack of time, it’s a lack of discipline.

Hey, another thing: I read in Stu’s thread that you plan to step on stage next year. That’s awsome! Very much looking forward to following that.

Cheers, PA

329

Thank you so much! Your post will keep my motivated for at least one year. I will read this whenever I feel I have no time or energy to turn on the computer and post an update on T-Nation.

As for your questions:
I used to bench press pretty much powerlifting style with a pronounced arch in my back, back of my head pressed on on the bench as hard as possible, toes on the floor with maximum pressure, and shrugged traps. Now that I am more of a bodybuilder than a powerlifter I switched to a slightly different set-up. I still shrugg my traps and push my head back as hard as I can.

I squeeze my glutes hard, but I don’t arch my back so much anymore. My feet are placed a foot or so more in front than in a powerlifting set-up and the soles are entirely on the floor. I push against the floor with the “middle” of my feet, not with my toes anymore. I never use a false grip. Never.

I squat with a fairly narrow stance. I do mostly front squats these days, anyway. With a shoulder-wide stance and feet pointing only slightly outwards.

I used to never use straps, wraps or belts in the past. There is nothing wrong with using those “tools”, I just always felt it was not “right” to lift a weight from the floor I could not hold in my hands. Lately I found that using straps can be a good thing, especially if you train with a lot of volume and a high frequency.
I think Thib once mentioned that as well: holding a heavy weight in your hands (like grabbing a bar whan you do deadlifts) causes an enormous stress on the nervous system. I currently deadlift 4 times a week and therefor have to make sure my CNS does not get overtaxed.

I don’t use straps up to 440 pounds. Just don’t see a reason. That’s a weight I can confortably deadlift without feeling my forearms or having problems with my grip strength. I’m using an overhand grip.
For heavier sets I use a mixed grip or - that’s what I am currently doing - I still use an overhand grip but with straps.
If I would deadlift only once a week I wouldn’t use straps.

I rarly wear a belt. Maybe when I feel a bit of pain in my lower back for whatever reason for my heaviest sets.

I never use pl-shirts or wraps.

Again, I don’t think there is anything wrong with using a belt for heavy sets of deadlifts or squats. I just don’t like to see people wearing them for 50 pounds barbell curls and lateral raises…

[quote]jake_j_m wrote:
I had a lot to catch up on this thread after not checking it for awhile but I will say one thing:

This the most motivating thread on bodybuilding, lifting and life I’ve ever read and is my number 1 reference point to stop myself ever thinking that “only so much” can be done as a natural lifter. You’ve quite frankly smashed any limitations I may have thought possible to bits. I have a very long road ahead of me but if I can get my lifts and physique to within even 3/4 of yours, I will have gone further then I originally may have ever thought possible.

Questions seem a little redundant considering the wealth of information already published by you, however, I was wondering a couple of things.

When you perform the “main lifts” what sort of technique set-up wise are you using? For example do you bench with the thibs shrugged traps method, squat with an olympic stance, shoes and depth and deadlift strapped or mixed grip ? I love the main lifts and you are one of the best examples of using them to their full potential as a bodybuilder. What are your thoughts on belts/beltless? You may have said earlier you lift beltless iirc?

Anything else you’d tell yourself training wise when speaking to the 20-year-old version of yourself? I’m trying my best to train “smart” for my age.

Oh yeah, your lifts are stupidly motivational. Thanks again PA[/quote]

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[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Wow,… I’ve found old training journals of mine in my parents’ basement as well. Always very cool to look at what exercises, approaches, and especially weights I used to make use of. I went through a phase when I was in Grad school where I was doing very low volume work, and I had a black and white photo of Yates taped inside the back cover of my training notebook. During sets I would open the book in front of me so I could see the pic, and the questions I had written under it in sharpie: “How much pain are you willing to endure?!”

Damn I was a meathead! -lol

S[/quote]

That’s so cool! There are many pics of Dorian taped in my old training journals. This guy was my biggest inspiration in bodybuilding ever. It’s funny, since I never really bought into the very-low volume way of training, or at least, it never really worked for me for too long. But Dorian had such a great attitude, an incredible work ethic and discipline. When he won in '93 I leterally jumped around in our house and couldn’t stop cheering for half an hour or so.

I still lived at home back then with my mother. My father left us several times when I was a kid, so my mom was the most important person for me. By the way: she knew more about my training and diet than I did myself. When I told her that I was going to compete again, she immediately replied something like: “Ok, no problem. In that case I will reduce the carbs in the meals I prepare for you. Let’s cut carbs altogether from 4 pm on, and reduce them in all other meals by 20% to start with…”. No joke. She was my coach and biggest supporter.

The year after Dorians memorable victory in '93 my mother gave me a birthday card she had made herself. With a black and white photo of Dorian on it (the one I uploaded - one of my favourites) and 700 Swiss Francs inside. That’s something like 850-900 Dollars.
My partens never had much money. 700 Francs was a fortune. My mom must have saved that over many, many month. She wrote on the card that this money shall help me to get a step closer towards my dreams of becoming a bodybuilder. I couln’d afford supps back then, and with this money, she wanted me to go and buy me protein powders and creatine.

Man, I will never ever forget that moment. One of the best memories I have.
No matter how rich you are, no matter how lucky you are in life, there is nothing more beautiful, nothing more sacred than having a loving mom, and nothing in the world can fill the empty space once she is gone.

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[quote]jake_j_m wrote:

Anything else you’d tell yourself training wise when speaking to the 20-year-old version of yourself? I’m trying my best to train “smart” for my age.

[/quote]

Yes:

Don’t try to reach diffrent things at the same time.
It’s very tough for a natural bodybuilder to gain lean body mass, and it’s very hard to lose fat and get shredded. Doing both at the same time is almost impossible. Focus on one goal at a time. Chose a good program, follow a solid diet and stick to it for a couple of years if you want to gain mass. And if you plan to lose fat and get ripped, do it within a focussed and disciplined 16 week prep-like diet and training plan.

Use strategic deloading.
I know, many people on this site don’t like the idea of doing deloading weeks every 4 weeks or so. In a perfect world where autoregulation perfectly works and you do less work when you feel your body is weak and needs some extra recovery, there would probalbly be no need to do deloading weeks.
But the thing is, when you are young, the energy is there. You might choose a workout plan for 4 sessions a week but end up adding 2 more days and 27 more sets of biceps work to it.

You will push through hard days inspite of a tired body. You’ll get away with this for a while, but then, sooner or later, you will hit the wall. The CNS can only recover so fast and tolerate so much. Once it’s too late and you find yourself in a severely burnt out stage, it will be difficult to get back to normal again. You’ll lose your motivation, energy, focus, ability to recover. It will spill over to other areas of you life. You might encounter troubled sleeping of falling asleep, lack of libido, too much or too little aggression.

The best “advice” I can give is to pick up a great training program that makes use of deloading weeks.
Take Wendlers 531. I can’t emphasize enough how great this plan is. Just pick a schedule that fits you (for 2, 3, or 4 workouts a weeks) and stick to it for years. You might want to change around the different 531 plans every few month (do the big but boring for 4 months and than the I don’t do Jack Shit to really focus on the main lifts for the next two, etc.).

Invest some time in Prehab.
This on is so important. Do some sort of mobility work every time you hit the gym. Do some soft tissue work like foam rolling, warm up properly (doing mobilitly and activation work) and care about your lifting technique.

Bodybuilding is such a beautiful sport. You can do it a life long and get better and better for many, many years. But this is only possible if you are able to train, i.e. stay healthy and un-injured. Rehab sucks, prehab rules :slight_smile:

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[quote]ParagonA wrote:

Hey man!

Thank you for posting. “On vacation these last few weeks” sounds so cool and makes me jealous. Hope you are fully recovered and motivated to hit the gym again.

The thing about prioritizing things is so true. How many people complain about not having time to work out or eat right? The use it as an excuse why they are fat, or at least terribly out of shape.
I really have no beef with people not working out. It’s a very personal desicion and if someone does not see a reason to work out and is happy carrying around a beer belly, that’s so totally ok with me. The thing is, most people are not happy with the way the look of feel, most people even feel a bit ashamed for their way of living, their lack of discipline and drive and focus and dedication.
The first step one has to make is to take a conscious desicion to change. Without that, you’re not going anywhere. And after that, one has to prioritizes things. It’s so very simple, yet the hardest thing to do.
The people who complain about not having time to work out; how many of them are watching TV for hours every single day? But they don’t find the time to hit the gym 3 days a week for an hour each. It’s rarly a lack of time, it’s a lack of discipline.

Hey, another thing: I read in Stu’s thread that you plan to step on stage next year. That’s awsome! Very much looking forward to following that.

Cheers, PA
[/quote]

Wish I could say I was taking it THAT easy… I guess for some of us vacation means training twice a day :wink:

I’m loathe to take ANY time away from the gym, and I’m blasting out numbers right now I havent hit in a while (back on my old BBing routine and LOVING it) so I probably wont be slowing down any time soon.

I’m also moving to a gym with a prowler, so I’m going to throw that in the mix to see if I cant do some additional damage there.

I think I might do a show next Summer. I finally figured out that there is no “best time” to do a show, or that if I wait around to have “enough” muscle that I’ll be waiting forever. Guys like you, Stu, and Synergy pretty much pushed me over the edge to do it. You have no idea how great these threads are for guys like me who are lone guns and none of our friends “get” what we do, and why we HAVE to do it.

I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted that wants to know about it. Thanks for the support.

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I like your idea of taking care of injuries, soft tissue problems before they actually happen. I see so many guys who can’t even scratch the back of their head, do a bodyweight squat, or can’t raise their arms perpendicular to the floor. They refuse to do anything about it, find excersises to actually worsen the problem (eg, smith shoulder presses, where they push the bar with their arms close to 45 degrees in front of them, smith half squats and so on).

And the worst: lot of the young freshmeat trainees do the same, even though they’d have the capability of doing full free lifts. It’d be easier to make progress on them, too.

Again I must emphasize that this thread along with the detailed posts of yours is definitely a must-read for anyone who aspires to be a better lifter-bodysculpter. Just my two cents.

Cheers.

334

Wow! Thanks for the time invested in your replies PA. If knowing your motivating me so much helps motivate you too, then we can have a nice little motivation circle going here in this thread.

Regarding the set-ups

-I’m currently benching where I have my feet out in front of my knees slightly, but reasonably wide and trying to push against the floor with my heels (flat feet). I usually set up with a basic arch and then from that position shrug and keep shrugged. Hopefully this sort of set-up should allow tons of progression then. I think I do really need to focus on squeezing the glutes.

-Squatting I have had a lot of issues with set-up but my preffered stance is usually about what you describe. I’m switching over to mainly front squats myself and was wondering how you hold the bar for them? I’ve been trying to use straps to unrack as I have seen CT recommend, however, I think I probably feel more stable, consistant and stronger using the cross-arms grip in all honesty.

-Straps/belt wise I think I try and make it my policy to not wear them until I feel it’s needed (for example 310+lb on deadlift, usually) and will continue to have this mentality, however I feel with straps my small hands do increase how often I need to use them.

I feel stronger pulling mixed grip but even deadlifting once a week I find a few heavy sets taxing on the CNS and was hoping by switching to straps that would no longer be the case. I’ve got some thinking to do on them as they still hit me hard. My straps are very thick so sometimes I wonder if that’s why I feel stronger pulling mixed without them as I get more of a grasp on the bar. This is something that I have appreciated your thoughts on and will continue to experiment with.

I don’t really want to clog up your thread with replies but thanks for the “20-year-old” advice. I am definitely in mass gain phase for awhile yet and have worked out that as long as I’m being honest with what I’m eating and adding calories steadily, it really doesn’t have to be a case of “getting fat” but just, gradually gaining weight. This suits me fine for now!

Pre-hab wise I have a foam roller and hockey ball I use and I must say when I make the time to do it I feel much better for it. With your advice I will make sure I make the time much more often. I try and lift in a manner that stimulates properly without destroying joints.

On the deloading issue: I am currently seeing consistant progress training on a BB split and will be sticking with it while it works, but I should for sure at least make the time to throw in some neural charge type sessions; the few times I have used them have made a big difference to how I feel. I essentially train 7 days a week (sometimes 6) so this should probably be more of a priority to make sure I am better recovered for each session. I would struggle to limit myself to just 4 sessions of training a week and feel having read 5/3/1 I would conclude I would have to morpth it too much for my own goals to make it useful, but if I decide to focus more on purely gain strength as quick as possible at some point, it would be likely I would turn to 5/3/1, smolov or ed coans deadlift programme I believe.

Thanks, and sorry for the huge mass of reply.

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Man, I will never ever forget that moment. One of the best memories I have.
No matter how rich you are, no matter how lucky you are in life, there is nothing more beautiful, nothing more sacred than having a loving mom, and nothing in the world can fill the empty space once she is gone.
[/quote]

x 2
Gotta love mum’s

336

@jake_j_m: You seem to be very methoodical and disciplined. I am very sure you’re going to be massive and strong and - if you set your mind to stepping on stage - shredded to the bones.
Thank you very mucg for the detailled feedback.

As for the froont squats: I really suggest to invest some time in wrist mobility and stretching and learning to do them with a proper clean grip. It doesn’t take long at all to learn the proper grip and it gives you so much more stability than a cross grip. Just somehow fixing the bar on your shoulders with any kind of grip will always feel like an act of balancing something heavy on the top of your body.

You’ll always have a slight feeling of pushing something towards your body. Which is basically what you do, you press the bar against your clavicle and/or throat. This is a horizontal plane of montion and your nervous system will not be able to fully activate the upwards / vertical motion. Holding the bar with a clean grip, you’ll be able to push it upwards, away from your shoulder shelf in a horizontal direction. It won’t move anywhere, you are no going to do push presses with it. But the motion will be horizontal and you’ll be able to unleash much more horizontal pressing strength.

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[quote]ParagonA wrote:
@jake_j_m: You seem to be very methoodical and disciplined. I am very sure you’re going to be massive and strong and - if you set your mind to stepping on stage - shredded to the bones.
Thank you very mucg for the detailled feedback.

As for the froont squats: I really suggest to invest some time in wrist mobility and stretching and learning to do them with a proper clean grip. It doesn’t take long at all to learn the proper grip and it gives you so much more stability than a cross grip. Just somehow fixing the bar on your shoulders with any kind of grip will always feel like an act of balancing something heavy on the top of your body.

You’ll always have a slight feeling of pushing something towards your body. Which is basically what you do, you press the bar against your clavicle and/or throat. This is a horizontal plane of montion and your nervous system will not be able to fully activate the upwards / vertical motion. Holding the bar with a clean grip, you’ll be able to push it upwards, away from your shoulder shelf in a horizontal direction. It won’t move anywhere, you are no going to do push presses with it. But the motion will be horizontal and you’ll be able to unleash much more horizontal pressing strength.
[/quote]

With your backing I have no choice other then to be massive and strong.

Excellent description regarding the front squats, never seen them explained so well. I will look into some stretches to improve wrist mobility for them, as it is I can just about handle the clean grip for 1 rep, but it tends to slip or prove painful with a proper set.

I think my first port of call will be trying to seek out that video where CT explains what he has his lifters do to increase wrist mobility; something like pushing yourself into the clean grip position against the bar in the rack? I would not be sure on time & frequency for doing this stetch, but I will look into it and experiment, thanks again!

My only little question is your stance on olympic shoes for lifting in- I’m currently using the “thin-soled” high-top converse, do you feel the feel of squatting with olympic shoes on is worth the investment for the growing bodybuilder?

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[quote]ParagonA wrote:

[quote]ryanbCXG wrote:
What kind of condidtion where you in with that amount cals? Training with lots of volume/ alot? Course using the weights you were has to put some stress on the body for recovery. You eat a lot less now right? Of course now because your prepping. ANyways thats awesome i cant wait to have beeen in the game long enough to look back at things like that. Cant wait to see how the rest of this prep goes for you. Love this log[/quote]

Well, my condition towards the end of my intitial bulk was all but good. My abs were hardly visible anymore and I had to lose so much weight for my first contest I thought I was going to die. It was so hard. Afer that I decided not to repeat the bulk/cut scheme anymore and tried to gain as clean as possible. It worked well for me and there was even a time when I never went away more than 10 to 12 pounds from contest shape weight.

I do eat much less today, in as well as off season.
One thing I learned from Bill Phillips (I know, many in here hate the man, but he certainly did some great work in his early years with MM2K) is, that most people eat too much damn food, but don’t focus on nutrient enough. I am a strong believer in the saying “a calorie is NOT a calorie” and try to eat high quality, nutrient-dense, healthy foods in the right combination at all times.[/quote]

Appreciate the time you took to write back. Sorry if this has been asked if it has just say so and i will go find where you wrote about it. But i know many have said that they had to get pretty big and out of condition to reach a much leaner yet higher weight. Do you believe that initial long bulk where you did get out of condition was necessary for you to have the physique you do now? Also again i have to say your strength is mind blowing

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@jake_j_m: I feel that investing in a good pair or two of lifting shoes is well worth it. They are expensive, but if you take care and don’t wear them to go running in the rain, they will last a lifetime.
I’d say that for normal bodybuilding purposes, converse Chuck Taylor’s do the job. The are inexpensive and pretty stable and wearing them you’ll be ‘close to the floor’, which is great for deadlifts and front squats and squats with the bar in low possition.

I would not recommend wearing fancy running shoes with gel soles. The just don’t offer enough stability, they absorbe strength (which is what they are supposed to do when you go running) and they bring your feet in an unfavourable possition for the Olympic lifts and deadlifts.

If you want to have one pair of lifting shoes only and are on a budget: buy and wear Converse CT’s. If you want to invest in a pair of solid lifting shoes and are into the Olympic lifts a lot and powerlifting squats: buy something like an Adidas Adistar or Inzer Pillar.
You can use the Converse for deadlifts and the elevated heels lifting shoes for the other lifts.

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@ryanbCXB: I wouldn’t say the inital 3 or 4 year bulk was necessary, I’d even say that I might have overdone it and lost a lot of lean mass when I had ro lise all the fat, but: some sort of longer-time bulk will be necessary to gain a substantial amount of muscle as a natural bodybuilder. With the lean mass gained it will become easier and easier to stay hard or in near contest shape condition year round. Unfortunately, it’s nearly imposdible to gain a lot of lean mass with no fat.

I recommend to concenrate on one goal at a time. For the first few years this will be gaining mass. I also recomnend to bulk as clean as possible - but some fat gain will be inevitable.
If I could redo my first 4 years I would try to gain a bit less weight. Maybe 20 pounds less (gained 80-90 pounds in 4 years). This would not have impacted my strength gains too much, I would have looked and frlt better and more healthy and I would have had to lose less fat for my first contest - and lose less lean mass in the course of it.