Bigger, better, leaner - 2023 onward, postcontest

[IntenseVolume]

You’re a beast. love the split. I’ve paid money for programs that were less informative than your log in the past.

 

[TheOtherOne55]

You’re a beast. love the split. I’ve paid money for programs that were less informative than your log in the past.

Thank u dude, I’ll be sure to keep up the weird details lol

2nd Back Day
Straight arm pulldown - 3x15
SS
Prime neutral grip pulldown - 3x10-12
Cybex machine row - 3x12
Wide grip pulldown - 3x12
SS
Wide grip seated high row - 3x10
SA seated row - Muscle Round
Dante rows - Muscle Row + drop set

Nothing crazy heavy just getting blood in there and get as good of a pump as possible. Felt good and strong. Takes quite a while to warm my left shoulder up - which I need on chest/shoulders and back days. Even arm days, with the shoulder tying into the bicep, take some painful stretching. It’s always at its worst when I’m huge and backs off a bit when I’m contest lean. Like my shoulder feels worse now than on 100mgs of winny lol. Annoying.

Appetite will be pushed this week with the steep increase in food. Although Justin prefers whole food, in peak off-season I’m using 1-3 shakes for my protein requirements. Not just shakes but liquid eggs whites as I can drink those with no stomach issues at all. Even today, a high day, I usually can eat meat and rice for 5-6 straight meals. Fiiiighting it now. Gotta throw a COR meal, a Rice Krispies cereal pwo, etc. stuff that just digests fast and I can get down quickly. This is when eating truly becomes a chore. I can do it and this is the shit thay gets me to 315. Not all sunshine and roses lol

 

[TheOtherOne55]

Glutes/Hams
Lying leg curls: 3x12
Seated leg curls: RP set
Hammy extension leg curls: 3x10
SS
RDL: 1 top set
Single leg leg curl: 3x15
Abductor machine: 3x15-20
SS
Round back back extension (really squeezing glutes): 3x10-12
Leg Extension: Muscle round set
SL leg press feat up high: 2x15
SS
BW lunges: 2x20

Moved pretty quick through this early this morning. Big pump as it’s a high day, vascularity still on my hamstrings which looks pretty cool. Carbs are at 1000g today of mostly white rice and COR. Appetite is still feeling good too. At 2-3 hrs I’m getting hungry again. So still have some breathing room there.

Strength and pumps are still feeling good too. To be honest, this is the first time I’m not logbookjng in years. I’m basically kinda paying attention to 1 or 2 big lifts per workout but not writing anything down. The rest of my workout I go by feel and pump. Just paying attention to training freakin hard and failing after all sets. So overall more volume work, less progressive overload. Both have their place but this switch is helping me grow to a new level. In my mind, I have pushed to very high levels of strength and needed a switch. And the volume definitely has help add a constant fullness I haven’t seen before. All good. Stuff is progressing in the right way and I’m happy.

 

[bbxtreme]

Yep, that’s me.
I’ve had two reconstructive on my L shoulder. And honestly, it’s still bad and leaves me pretty uneven. There are certain poses which I will most certainly lose due to the muscular imbalances (over years of training) and my inability to externally rotate. I think my overall size helps, if I can just out mass guys. But compared to a complete SHW, I will lose. For instance, here is a pic from this morning. I was 298.1 after a boatload of food yesterday. The lack of external rotation limits my ability to flair my lat L lat out. Sucks, but it is what it is. Luckily I compete because it’s fun. Training is my thing, the stage is just a small piece of the big picture. I feel like I’m destined to be a JP like guy lol not quite the best competitor, but lives BBing thru and thru


Like if I could replicate my R side, this would be a great shot for me.

View attachment 189628

Just catching up on your log- some serious progress. Think it’s awesome you’re tracking and sharing it all as I have never done one partly because of much time it can take.

Personal curiosity if you don’t mind sharing- since the shoulder procedure what therapies have you tried and done on the left side?

Seeing my stage shots at my last show I knew I finally had to address my left side as it was showing. Hence I went to get stem cells etc.

That aside, what’s becoming a game changer for me is the PT work weekly with the Neubi. I was a huge sceptic for years on sports PT and the Neubi as I have access to a lot of tech and therapies.

We’ve been working on “loading the muscle” fully while using the Neubi through movements on my left shoulder to re-train or “adjust” my movements to fully engage without engaging the surrounding muscles and fibers. It’s been 60 days now and can honestly say I’ve seen a significant difference in my training and left side.

May be different given your surgery, but worth a shot and curious what you’ve done and do to date as shoulder injuries have followed me for years.

 

[TheOtherOne55]

Just catching up on your log- some serious progress. Think it’s awesome you’re tracking and sharing it all as I have never done one partly because of much time it can take.

Personal curiosity if you don’t mind sharing- since the shoulder procedure what therapies have you tried and done on the left side?

Seeing my stage shots at my last show I knew I finally had to address my left side as it was showing. Hence I went to get stem cells etc.

That aside, what’s becoming a game changer for me is the PT work weekly with the Neubi. I was a huge sceptic for years on sports PT and the Neubi as I have access to a lot of tech and therapies.

We’ve been working on “loading the muscle” fully while using the Neubi through movements on my left shoulder to re-train or “adjust” my movements to fully engage without engaging the surrounding muscles and fibers. It’s been 60 days now and can honestly say I’ve seen a significant difference in my training and left side.

May be different given your surgery, but worth a shot and curious what you’ve done and do to date as shoulder injuries have followed me for years.

Jealous u are getting some great results from the neubie and to be honest, it would probably be a Step 2 in fixing me.

My shoulder was surgically fixed like 15+ years ago from college football. And the way they handle labrum and rotator cuff injuries and surgeries is so diff now. My shoulder is basically tied downnn if that makes sense. Lack of ROM upward and backward (external rotation) so something as simple as washing my hair with my left hand OR hitting a front double with my left arm, flaring the lat and pushing elbows forward is impossible. It has been awhile since I saw a sports surgeon but my last MRI was severe osteoarthritis with several bone spurs. They basically said my shoulder will need to be replaced and to not come back until it is unbearable, which it is not at this point. Everything from PT to stretching works a bit but it’ll never be able to fully get back to what it was.

Realistically, what I need is deep tissue work to break down some scar tissue. That would at least help open up the lat and hide the issue a bit more. Step 2, like u mentioned, would be using the Neubie to work on some of the lagging groups. When I hit a back double, u can see some crazy unsymmetrical positions as some muscle have taken over due to the lack of ROM. Sucks but it’s the reality. To be honest, I’m a great gym bodybuilder lol thick, huge. And the posing and structurally I’m off and I’m OK with that. I like to tell myself I’m on the Jordan Peters path lol we’ll see what happens in the next year. I think I’m a good state level BBer and will check off some decent level contest in 2024 but this shoulder shit kills all chance at national level. I hope in the next year to get into a national level stage just to say I did it tho. If I don’t I’d regret it.

But I’m jealous dude, I want some neubie sessions. There are a couple trainers I know here using them and I remember when Brad Rowe fiiirst was at Venicenwith it. Lots of buddies have used it with great progress so it’s on my wish list

 

[TheOtherOne55]

Chest/Shoulders
Decline hammer - top set back off
Incline machine - top set back off drop set
Incline hammer- 3x12
Fly machine- 3x15
Wide grip pushups - 2x25
Cable rear delts - 3x20
SS
Bent over db swings - 3x12
Seated db side raises - 3x15
Cable cuff side raises - RP set
Side raise machine - MR set

Then 15 mins of HIIT cardio

Weight was at 302.1 this morning. Fat boyyy. The food is hiiigh so the scale is too. I say this as I’m supposed to get my last meal in and I’m dreading it. But felt good and strong. Today just did that, ate lots of food and watched the nfl games.

By the way, nothing new to me, but I’ve always calculated my meat as cooked ounces. So on days like today I’m eating 10oz of beef or chicken per meal….just a shit ton of food along with rice and more rice. More shakes worked in due to time too. Ok time to eat now

 

[bbxtreme]

Jealous u are getting some great results from the neubie and to be honest, it would probably be a Step 2 in fixing me.

My shoulder was surgically fixed like 15+ years ago from college football. And the way they handle labrum and rotator cuff injuries and surgeries is so diff now. My shoulder is basically tied downnn if that makes sense. Lack of ROM upward and backward (external rotation) so something as simple as washing my hair with my left hand OR hitting a front double with my left arm, flaring the lat and pushing elbows forward is impossible. It has been awhile since I saw a sports surgeon but my last MRI was severe osteoarthritis with several bone spurs. They basically said my shoulder will need to be replaced and to not come back until it is unbearable, which it is not at this point. Everything from PT to stretching works a bit but it’ll never be able to fully get back to what it was.

Realistically, what I need is deep tissue work to break down some scar tissue. That would at least help open up the lat and hide the issue a bit more. Step 2, like u mentioned, would be using the Neubie to work on some of the lagging groups. When I hit a back double, u can see some crazy unsymmetrical positions as some muscle have taken over due to the lack of ROM. Sucks but it’s the reality. To be honest, I’m a great gym bodybuilder lol thick, huge. And the posing and structurally I’m off and I’m OK with that. I like to tell myself I’m on the Jordan Peters path lol we’ll see what happens in the next year. I think I’m a good state level BBer and will check off some decent level contest in 2024 but this shoulder shit kills all chance at national level. I hope in the next year to get into a national level stage just to say I did it tho. If I don’t I’d regret it.

But I’m jealous dude, I want some neubie sessions. There are a couple trainers I know here using them and I remember when Brad Rowe fiiirst was at Venicenwith it. Lots of buddies have used it with great progress so it’s on my wish list

The fact that you are almost 300 pounds and look how you do now knowing that about your shoulder is just awesome. Mad props to you as most guys would use it as an excuse and have never lifted or competed again.

The surgeries today still are not that advance or great IMO, but what you had done has to be a constant workaround.

I was hesitant on PT and the Neubi as it’s $195 an hour where I go. But after a few sessions now is worth every penny. On some level it feels like we are relearning how to use the muscle. But more accurately we are using the Neubi to train the body and brain how to fully utilize and load the muscle group being used and pushing through and around the areas of injury. In the moment it just feels like I’m doing functional training with a stem unit frying my tissues, but when I do my workouts such as delts the movement feels completely different, more open and can now fully load and engage the muscle group.

Example my shoulders are my second best body part. In 2021 I only trained them once every two weeks while I brought my chest up. But due to my left shoulder and rotator cuff I was bypassing the injury in my press movements by putting all the pressure on my outside delts. On my right side the lat tear had caused me to not even engage and load my rear delts on the press as again I was flaring out the elbows and driving into the side delts.

Now we’ve retrained the movement to fully drop into the rear delts to load the muscle then drive up with my smith machine presses. Totally different movement and feel, as well pushed a lot more weight. The Neubi accelerated the process of training the muscle- a session with it instead of multiple manual ones and daily.

They have a locator on their website:

NeuPTtech Certified Practitioners

Find a NEUBIE in your state with this breakdown of all the NeuPTtech Certified Practitioners who use the NEUBIE.

neupttech.com

I got lucky being in GA that one of the two was only 30 min away.

But I fully agree with you on deep tissue work. As I’m sure you have seen on other threads I’m a huge fan of true deep tissue work and active release techniques. It’s the most painful hour of my week and some days I’m drenched from all the Inflammation being dug out but is the only way I’m able to train after my injuries. My PT and Neubi work would not be nearly as successful without the deep tissue work. Thursdays are the day- AM get the area dug out and PM do PT and Neubi work.

I would highly suggest going to get deep tissue done. For some reason a lot of guys refuse to do it because they think it’s a “massage” or some can’t handle the pain as it’s brutal the first few sessions. But if guys can get over being pansy’s and that it’s not “gay” they could make huge changes in the gym IMO.

Excited to keep following and thanks for letting me hijack your log for a minute as I’m always curious to see how guys navigate injuries as it’s part of the game.

For the record I think you can and absolutely should go for the pro card. Large open guys are few and far apart these days at shows as everyone is trying to pretend they are a bodybuilder, but can’t hack it in open so are sucking down pretending to be classic. Under Justin with your size you could nail it. And at 35 like me now we have access to one of the most over crowded classes masters 35. I honestly was trying my best to avoid that class as competition stacks up there.

Excited to keep following as you hit 300 pounds!

 

[TheOtherOne55]

@bbxtreme
Thank you dude and I appreciate you checkin out the log AS WELL AS always spewing good info on here.
ALWAYS valuable to have good PM members showcasing wtf they are doing and how they got there, we need ya lol

And i will definitely get some deep tissue shit. I kinda have to get myself out of the mindset of "hey, why invest MORE if you probably cant reach your end goal." I know thats a terrible mindset to have as im very optimistic and stay positive, but im also realistic. I cannot stand when i talk to young dudes who truly think they are a show away from their pro card. Maybe just because ive been following NPC and IFBB for so long, but there have been lots of GREAT physiques who havent gotten their card. I DO think getting into a top 2 callouts at a national show could be in the cards...so i cant have that mindset. I just need to take the necessary steps.

Basically, tell me when u do a national level show and ill prep for it too lol get a PM crew there LOL

 

[TheOtherOne55]

BACK
Straight arm pulldowns - 4x15
Prime Neutral pulldown - top set back off
Dual handle seated rows - 3x10
Wide grip pulldown - 3x15
SS
Seated high rows - 3x12
DY hammer low row - Triple drop set
Dante rows - Muscle Round set

Nothing crazy from yesterday. Another high day where i was 303.5 in the morning. The food has really shot me up lol. BLOATED and full but good. I say this as I just force fed a COR meal. This is a 2-leg day week so this is a regular back day without pushing lower back and glutes in there. My meals were switched up a bit but this is kinda what it looked like;
1. Cocoa Krispies + whey/casein/egg protein powder
2. Chicken + rice
3. COR + whey/casein/egg protein powder
4. Ground beef + rice
5. Fruit + ground beef + rice
6. 96/4 burgers + tater tots
Carb wise that is right around 1000g and protein it was 300 from direct sources. Full as hell at the end. I usualllly dont have much shakes, but this deep into the food push, its 100% necessary. Just eating that much meat sucks and kills me if its for every meal. Usually for the rice + meat meals i add green onions, some salsa and G Hughes Sugar Free Thai Chili sauce...its bomb as hell. Walmart has it so every time im there i just stock up with like 4 bottles.

TODAY is just a cardio off day. So after i wake up and do dad stuff with the baby, i sneak away to get 15 mins of HIIT in and maybe walk on the treadmill for another 20 mins. I always throw in abs during this time though. This past show i had a very weak and shallow midsection so a goal for me has been to train abs 3-4 times a week. Ive been on it lately.

As far as gear, still running strong with @Bioactive stuff. Its strong, it tested ridiculously well and is overdosed and its good prices.
Was on the Sust + NPP + Mast for awhile and just switched over to Sust + EQ and lowered the Mast a bit. Feel good and strong right now. I'll post some more pics up soon as i get into that 305 fat boy zone.

 

[TheOtherOne55]

ARMS/CALVES
SA crossbody ext - 4x15
SS
SA cable curls -4x12
Rope pushdowns - 4x12
SS
EZ bar cable curls - 4x15
Rope curls - 4x15
SS
OH tricep cable ext - 4x15
Assisted pull up machine pushdown - MR set
Incline DB curls - MR set
CG curls - MR set
SA pushdown - MR set


My arm training is always SS or it takes forever. I also enjoy the full arm pump this way. But Was full as a fuckin house this morning. The food + some drug changes has me fulll. I literally got back pumps from an arm workout lol so that shows you how big I am. Tons of food and fluid. Surprisingly, with this im still vascular and decent. Still lines and abs. Kinda figuring out this experiment. I have some Trest on hand and had been microdosing 5-10mg EOD. So that right there + the food has cause a swiiiing. Nipples not itchy or anything but it’s definitely the aromatization for sure. Figuring out if I keep this or drop and just keep this Sust/EQ/Mast thing going. We’ll see how weight settles a bit before I make a decision.

 

[TheOtherOne55]

Back
Straight arm pulldowns - 3x15
Prime handle seated row - Top set back off
Prime handle neutral pulldown - 3x12
SA DB row - 3x10
Wide neutral grip row - RP set
DY low row machine - 3x15
Chest supp row machine - 3x15
Dante rows - MR set
Hyperextensions - 4x15

Weight is starting to settle a bit. The microdosing of the Trest kinda threw my weight for a loop. Seeing this, i immediately adjusted some AI dosing and its kind of figured itself out now. I'm sitting between 310-305 LOL nuts i know. The visual isnt that much diff...im not like a moon face or anything, i can just feel a little bloat. Especially around my feet. The first day of trest, my lower back pumps were nuuuts but did hypers today and it wasnt bad at all. I'm basically taking 10mg of trest EOD right now. But feel good. Ill post some pics up in the next couple days with my checkin just so you can see.

Somewhat getting used to the big food bump too. I'm not any fulltime coach (i work in advertising/production) but I have a handful of guys im helping at the moment and its kinda funny to see guys complaining about like 4k calories. Of course they arent used to this life yet but i'm like, "bro, this isnt even that much food...schedule your day accordingly." Right now its a high day — and if i dont get my first meal in before 730AM, i am fucked lol High days are usually always around 6-7k. Either way its funny. Gotta go cook up some 96/4 ground beef for this next meal

 

[TheOtherOne55]

CHEST/SHOULDERS
Fly Machine - 3x15
Hammer Incline - RP set
Decline Hammer - 3x10
Chest press machine - 3x12
Cable crossovers - triple drop set
Bent over rear delts - 3x20
SS
Band pullaparts - 3x15
Side raise machine - 3x12
Cable cuff raises - RP set
DB shrugs - top set back off, triple drop set


Not a ton of volume today. Just enough for a crazy pump. I wouldve thrown in a bit more on shoulders but had to get out of the gym and back home for some dad time with the baby. This is the day after a high day so i was 309.8 and full as a house. Skin splitting pumps and lean looking right around 310. I was pleased how i looked today actually. But felt good and strong.

Food is feeling ok. I kinda rotate between 4-6 meals continuously. Justin's plans allow some breathing room with that. Its all about consistency anyways. He's cool knowing that i stick to the script 99% of the time.

As far as training i feel great. Its one of those weird things where the OLDER you get (training age wise), the lighter you lift LOL
I could rep shit out when i was in my early 20s, there was no real connection. It was getting the weight to move and explode. The older you get, the more you feeel and can contract a certain muscle mentally. So I can make 3 plates FEEL like 5 plates. I laugh when i see guys curling like 60lb DBs, i havent gone about 30lb DBs for curls in like 5 years and I have 21 inch arms. I have always had shit arms and have spent yearrsss finding the right way to connect and respond to biceps. FEELING them, squeezing them. And viola...they grow.
I was just explainign this to some young guys at the gym the other day...the first 5+ years of your lifting should just be about load...get strong, be violent, move shit around. Grip it and rip it. If you played organized sports in HS, this is very helpful because youll learn this in your teens. Football taught it for me. So youll get good gains just by lifting heavy and hard. The next phase of your lifting career is feeling it. Those next 5+ years, youve kind of figured out how stuff feels. How it contracts. What YOU personally need to do to feel something. THEN, you can switch it up by concentrating on specific groups. Mind muscle connection is at its peak. You get the best of both worlds in about a decade and chances are, youll be BIG and strong. There are FAR TOO MANY yound dudes watching Dr Mike and other randos who think that slow ultra long ROMs is the way to get big. Slow contractions and over lengthening everything. It makes me shake my head. Mark my words, this group of young guys will NEVER BE 240+ leannn. In fact, they probably dont want to be. They want the classic look. Either way, even if they wanted to get there, they would have a hard time. Anyways, rant over. Time to eat lol

 

[TheOtherOne55]

306.2 today
Shitty lighting I kno. I’m getting some construction work done on my patio so my usual setup is off.
You can still see some lines though. Leg separation is still there, shoulder/chest striations still in a bit.

 

[UnholyAlliance]

306.2 today
Shitty lighting I kno. I’m getting some construction work done on my patio so my usual setup is off.
You can still see some lines though. Leg separation is still there, shoulder/chest striations still in a bit.
View attachment 191898View attachment 191900

Massive!

 

[luki7788]

306.2 today
Shitty lighting I kno. I’m getting some construction work done on my patio so my usual setup is off.
You can still see some lines though. Leg separation is still there, shoulder/chest striations still in a bit.
View attachment 191898View attachment 191900

fucking huge

 

[aHarness]

I usually get 5-6 a day and can grow like that.

Curious, is 5 to 6 hours where you feel good? Or is that just what schedule allows

Looking insane

 

[TheOtherOne55]

LEGS
Seated leg curl - top set back off
Adductor machine - 3x15
Leg extension - 4x12 hard flex at top
Abductor machine - 4x20
Hack Squat - top set back off
Leg Press - as many sets as it takes to get to 50 reps, all to failure. Took about 5, almost like a long RP set
Bulgarian SS - RP set

Not a ton this week as it’s a double back work week but enough to challenge and hit me hard. That 50 rep leg press was tough, definitely a good intensity thing. High day though so 1000g carbs for this and a free meal. Weight has kinda settled at 306ish. Low days it’ll be 303ish in the morning and by the end of high days I’m a tank at 310+. We’ll see though. Still going strong.

I have a couple trips this month which is annoying. Bodybuilding, at least to me, is so routine and in your own habitat. Traveling for work or even vaca throws that a bit and in some instances is more challenging then others. I feel like I take my off-season serious so it takes serious planning for me to do my shit away lol. I was in Prague for 2 weeks a couple months back. I’m about to go to nyc for 2 weeks end of this month. Im a hermit and me working remote at home is the perfect situation for bodybuilding at this time in my life.

 

[275bills]

Super impressive bro

 

[TheOtherOne55]

Super impressive bro

Appreciate it man. Trying.
I feel like the stars have aligned so far this year. I was lean, primed for growth, gear dosage was clickin, food was digesting well, allll this. But it’s good until it isn’t lol Justin said we could get to 320 but we’ll see about that

BACK
Straight arm pulldown - 3x15
Prime rotating handle pulldown - top set back odf
Barbell Tbar row - 3x10
SS
Machine row - 3x12
Wide grip pulldown - triple drop set
Seated high row - 3x15
Dante rows - RP set
Abductor machine - 2x15
SS
Rounded back hypers - 2x20

This is the second back day of this week so a bit more pump and not insanely heavy stuff. High day too. Lots of food and felt great.

The one thing I’ve noticed this offseason is just my ability to get cals in is so much higher. I’m very much a clean food guy, but at the end of a high day I will throw in a free meal. Whatevvver it is. And no matter how high cal it is, my body can handle and assimilate. I remember James Hollingshead and Quinton Beastwood talk about the need to throw in some junk just when cals are already sky with clean food. In reality, clean food makes up 95% of my week, but there is some easily digested delicious food as well.
Off to eat again.

 

[TheOtherOne55]

Sorry for the delay guys, was traveling around with the fam fro the SB so it was hard to get on here to log my shit.


BACK
Straight arm pulled down - 3x12
CG pulldown - top set back off
Seated SA Row - top set back off
Wide grip pulldown - Triple drop set
Machine row - 3x12
Chest supp Tbar - MR set
Seated high row - 3x10
Lots of calf work in today
DB shrugs - top set back off then drop sets

Woke up at 310.2 today after a high day, bursting full. Feel good but the lower back pumps are pretty atrocious right now. Can still do some pulling and hyperextension work but it sucks. Food is super high but everything is going down well. Im just choosing foods that digest a little better. At this point in the offseason, bagels and shakes start making an entrance rather than chicken and potatos. Just easier to get down and im hungry again in 90 mins. I know its not perfect, but with 7k cals on high days, you neeeed to do this.

Cardio is still fully in. 15 mins of HIIT plus lots of walking. I think i mentiuoned this before but i had been on the last bit of my paternity leave for the year. So the last 5 weeks just with my wife and the baby at home all day. Its been great for the BBing lifestyle but also been great to just spend time with my daughter. Ive had an amazing time and im lucky i get to be as close to her as I am. One of the best times of my life this past month or so with her birthday and baptism in there. But this coming monday im back to work so im gonna have to adjust to a new schedule and my wife goes back to kinda riding solo. the GOOD thing is that we get a week of this new routine and then end of Feb we fly back east for 2 weeks. SO we'll have help from her fam and i get a new gym in the Baltimore area for awhile. Her family knows my crazy eating and gyms schedule so it works well.

Also, i am peak hugeness size-wise right now. At this poiint, the 4XL (biggest size they have) at GASP isnt looking as "oversized" as usual. Ive heard TBJP clothign is pretty great sizewise so i might try some of that as well. I think ive mentioned it on here, but im always looking for the perfect shirt so big guys. Something thats nice fitting and cut the right way.