Optimass

[Optimass]

Back today ...

Good session. No niggles and crossed the 200kg deadlift mark for the first time. Back was fully loaded at the end of the session.

Lat Pulldown - 4 sets / no heavy failure set just preping for the dead lift sets. 12 reps

Unilateral Pulldowns 2 sets / about 110lbs each arm both sets.

Seated row 4 sets / 80kg on final set 12 reps comfortable. (Will be swithing this out to bent over rows next week)

Deadlifts 5 sets / 4th set 10 reps @ 180kg - felt really good as stated no issues form was good - probably could have got 2 more but stopped to cross the 200kg mark - this is a milestone point in my training since coming back so just wanted to get one out and feel 200kg again. Went one better and nailed 220kg - only 1 rep but was perfect. Was going to hit the second but don't want to run before I walk and very pleased with that.

3 sets of leg raises - horizontal of the end of a bench / superset with ab machine crunch.

30 minute cardio session to end - treadmill and iPod - speed 6.5 incline 4 - approx 430cals burnt

............

Transition week in my new nutition plan.

High carb still this morning dropping out towards the end of the day - am working in the store till 12am this morning but still dropped out my carbs for the night.

Tomorrow is chest day with biceps - should be a good session. Training in middle of the day is good at the moment.

12 Weetbix - 400mls trim milk (30g whey serve)

250g Chicken breast + 150g cottage cheese + 6ml Fish oil

Handfull of almonds and 150g lite yogurt + 100g Chcken (left overs)

Training + Shake n Bake - (Took and Apple with the shake - and have switched to water)

250g Chicken Breast + 1 cup Mixed Vegies

Will have a hand full of nuts later and a Shake before sleeping :nod:

......

Not a bad start to the plan - I am not going through as bad a carb withdrawl as I thought. Tomorrow will be interesting. Will need to assess my strength and energy levels next week as whilst I am going to get leaner I don't want to fall back on the strength gains until I hit 110kg.

.....

Olympic Bars: Has been a frustration of mine for years... why don't some gym owners replace bars that are bent when they see them. Some of the bars at the gym are the shit bars (not the quality high tensile ones)

[Gym rat]

200kg deadlift :shock:

[Luigi]

yea 200 not bad... 220 better!

how you get so huge on that amount of food ? is that only half the days food or meals missing or slow metabolism ? something dont add up !

[Optimass]

yea 200 not bad... 220 better!

how you get so huge on that amount of food ? is that only half the days food or meals missing or slow metabolism ? something dont add up !

I'm doing a quick change at the moment to start a bfat drop so not normal intake ..... although all in all it's about eating smart. For me bulking and offseason go hand in hand - I'm personally not opposed to eating anything I feel like when doing this - as a result I'm mentally more focused during these times as I don't have to worry about the food. It can come at a cost to conditioning but if you do it in slow gains and slow drops you eventually come off better each year.

As a rule I wouldn't do a full drop every year - (comp every second).

Training has been mostly geared to strength - similar to powerlifting in that I prefer free weights and low reps. My slow metabolism is a bonus for gaining size but a challenge when coming into a show.

Taking a year off dieting to just eat lots and train extra heavy will do wonders for your growth (I have just done a full year off everything so body is a sponge) - as soon as you start restricting calories to the extent a bodybuilder does causes your body to go into lockdown and it tries to save itself. (Unless you know what your doing).

I started training on and off from when I was 16 (6 months here and there) but didn't fully sellout to bodybuilding until I was 21. (I wish I had been consistant from then - I'd be a mountain now. I qualified around then as a PT and studied nutrition while I worked. Entered my first show on the back of 4 clients convincing me to start conditioning at the same time as they did... rest is history.

Takes a lot of time - and trial and error to grow big - although I am never satisfied with my size even over 130+ kg --- completely relate to BIG KIWI on that front. (Similar problem but have it reasonably under control now :nod: )

[Pete_S]

[Optimass]

Can relate to this 100% although the sides getting bad for me at 134kg at the moment. I would like to get to 140kg in next 3 months but will have to monitor health issues along the way.

PS: tell big Paul Richards to lay off the 500kg front squats to help preserve the Te Atatu gear :pfft:

I have trouble breathing etc at that weight range - have only done twice in last 5 years - first tme my waist was expanding faster than my chest :pfft: // sleeping can be an issue also. Startled myself a couple of times as slept on my arm and cut my oxygen off - wife thought I was choking :shock:

[Optimass]

REST DAY - Switched to low carb - first day today ... :x

Not that bad really .... here is the intake today ...

Meal 1 - 10 eggs (5 yolks) + 100g Tuna (JW lemon and cracked pepper)

Meal 2 - 250g steak + 1 cup green vegies + 6000mg Omega 3 oil

Meal 3 - 50g Whey serve + 2 Tblspoons Peanut Butter

Meal 4 - 250g Steak + 1 cup green vegies + 6000mg Omega 3 oil

Meal 5 - 50g Whey serve + 2 Tbls Peanut Butter

Meal 6 - 10 eggs (5 yolks)

Water @ 3L so far - will do another L before bed.

Feeling quite good at the moment --- > Training tomorrow Chest biceps >> will see how my strength is affected.

.............................................................

Boneless Chicken Breast -= $8.99 per kg at Mad Butcher this week :clap: - so have loaded up for the next fortnight.

[Optimass]

Chest and bi's yesterday

Weighin - 116.9kg - so 600g variance from Monday. Target is 1kg per week maxx ... but to be fair I didn't sllep much (only 4 hours) as I finished a late and then had a meeting in city very early.

Good workout none the less although took it easy at the sart due to lack of sleep/ - new diet not interfering with strength to much which is good. Pump was full and energy was still good.

Flat D/b Press: 5 sets / final set 12 reps @ 52.5 kg d/b (A bit lighter than last week but I didn't want to cook the rest of the workout).

D/b Flyes: 3 sets / Final set 12 reps @ 30kg d/b

Incline machine bench: 4 sets / Final set @ whole stack - (3 second eccentrics with a stretch pause at the bottom of each rep)

hammer curl: 3 sets / final set 8 reps @ 30kg

Concentration curl: 2 sets / final set 90lbs - again slow eccentrics.

.................

Day 3 low carb ...

Meal 1 - 10 eggs (5 yolks) + 100g Tuna (JW lemon and cracked pepper)

Meal 2 - Chicken 250g + 1 cup green vegies + 6000mg Omega 3 oil

Meal 3 - 50g Whey serve + 2 Tblspoons Peanut Butter

- post training shake n bake

Meal 4 - Chicken 250g + 1 cup green vegies + 6000mg Omega 3 oil

Meal 5 - 50g Whey serve + 2 Tbls Peanut Butter

Meal 6 - 250g Fish

[Optimass]

Rest day today -

nutrients today ....

Meal 1 - 8eggs 4 yolks + 100g tuna

Meal 2 - 50g whey + 2Tbl peanut butter

Meal 3 - 300g Chicken + 1 cup green vegies + 6ml Fish oil

Meal 4 - 50g whey + 2 Tbl peanut Butter

Meal 5 - 300g Chicken Breast + Salad + 6ml fish oil

Meal 6 - 10 eggs 4 yolks

................

Had to step away from the peanut butter on meal 4 and hijackeed my sons tommy tippee as left my shaker at work. :pfft:

Energy all good but definately stoamach is begging for carbs - legs tomorrow night :twisted:

Looking forward to it.

[startinfromscratch]

dude im very impressed with your eating - im having my first attempt at cutting, and using a carb cycle, but even on a 'low day' i have a cup of oats, a cup of rice, + trace carbs - and im hungry as f*ck! im WAY smaller and not lean (80k@16%) 5ft 9".

at your weight and condition, i dont know how you do it bro - the weights dropping off me quick as with these carbs, surely its gonna melt off on that level of carbs!

Q: - do you use a carb cycle or 'refeed' system to cut? , or just consistent low/no carb?

[ramy]

dude im very impressed with your eating - im having my first attempt at cutting, and using a carb cycle, but even on a 'low day' i have a cup of oats, a cup of rice, + trace carbs - and im hungry as f*ck! im WAY smaller and not lean (80k@16%) 5ft 9".

at your weight and condition, i dont know how you do it bro - the weights dropping off me quick as with these carbs, surely its gonna melt off on that level of carbs!

Q: - do you use a carb cycle or 'refeed' system to cut? , or just consistent low/no carb?

are you eating enough calories now that your cutting back on the carbs if your not you cant maintain a stable or positive body weight. when you eat carbs nothing is gunna happen they dont magically transform into muscle it converts and gets stored as fat. now that your not eating those carbs your body will burn its own fat for fuel IF your not eating enough calories... if you ARE eating enough calories you wont cut as quick its a cruel cruel stage for bulkers if you eat heaps of carbs all year round you should expect to shrink and realise the truth when it comes to cutting. if you eat heaps of calories during your cutting cycle youll maintain your size however you wont be as an effective fat burning machine...

but as you do, you cut down on calories when you cut.

[Optimass]

Only one cheat meal on a Sunday night - Meal 6 > last meal of the day. (You are way less likely to binge if you make it the last meal of the day)

6 days on 1 off (1 meal that is).

I find I have to be focused on timing pretty much the whole day - if I go 30min over a scheduled meal I start to drift - get pissy and vague :pfft: . (only a week into it and my body is like clock work). It's the fat you take that bring it all together as far as energy etc.

However, I'll drop my set volumes will drop to 4 exercises and 2-3 sets based on energy by about week 5 or 6 - can maintain strength for longer and doesn't over fatigue which is a trap you can fall into on low/no carb plans. I'll still only hit low reps on failure sets to keep as much size as possible as the weight comes down.

(Also - comfortable adding a rest day between body parts for the same reason)

[ramy]

hey optimass i noticed you eat 4 yolks with your two of your egg servings a day

i wanted to let you know from each egg yolk your getting 5 grams of fat 2 of them are saturated and .220 grams cholesterol so thats 40 grams of fat a day, 16 grams saturated and 2 grams of cholesterol. this is from a 50 gram egg the average size 7 egg is actually closer to 60 grams. i know this because i work on a poultry farm lol:)

[Optimass]

hey optimass i noticed you eat 4 yolks with your two of your egg servings a day

i wanted to let you know from each egg yolk your getting 5 grams of fat 2 of them are saturated and .220 grams cholesterol so thats 40 grams of fat a day, 16 grams saturated and 2 grams of cholesterol. this is from a 50 gram egg the average size 7 egg is actually closer to 60 grams. i know this because i work on a poultry farm lol:)

Yeah - 2grams but drops by 25% after cooking .... 8 eggs (4 yolks) approx 7.2g sat fat = 64cals from sat fats (128 in day) - probably should drop it back to two yolks actually but they taste much better with a few extras :grin:

[Luigi]

yah judging by the pics iv seen of optimass he knows his stuff so im sure he knows what hes doing with his foods.

[ramy]

how are you cooking them? i use to scramble them with a slice of low fat cheese to get some texture into it however i found the best way to cook them without additives is to boil them and you lose no nutrients or water from the egg when you boil them and you simply cut and pop the yolks out and they taste alot better and mouth doenst get bored from chewing and chewing and its got a bit more texture.

[Luigi]

how are you cooking them? i use to scramble them with a slice of low fat cheese to get some texture into it however i found the best way to cook them without additives is to boil them and you lose no nutrients or water from the egg when you boil them and you simply cut and pop the yolks out and they taste alot better and mouth doenst get bored from chewing and chewing and its got a bit more texture.

may be an odd question but do you get bad gas from boiled eggs or is that just me... lol

[ramy]

how are you cooking them? i use to scramble them with a slice of low fat cheese to get some texture into it however i found the best way to cook them without additives is to boil them and you lose no nutrients or water from the egg when you boil them and you simply cut and pop the yolks out and they taste alot better and mouth doenst get bored from chewing and chewing and its got a bit more texture.

may be an odd question but do you get bad gas from boiled eggs or is that just me... lol

i get bad gas all the time ill let you know the next time i eat eggs (next off days) and odd question is does your gas smell like EGGS when you eat something totally different like meat or a shake? LOL

[Android]

When I was doing 12 whole eggs a day I had the worst gas you can imagine (or don't want to imagine).

It smells like rotten eggs and you become unpopular with the chicks very fast, wait until you're married before trying it.

Your posts reminded me to buy peanut butter, I need to start good fats again cheers dude!

[bambam]

yea 200 not bad... 220 better!

how you get so huge on that amount of food ? is that only half the days food or meals missing or slow metabolism ? something dont add up !

I'm doing a quick change at the moment to start a bfat drop so not normal intake ..... although all in all it's about eating smart. For me bulking and offseason go hand in hand - I'm personally not opposed to eating anything I feel like when doing this - as a result I'm mentally more focused during these times as I don't have to worry about the food. It can come at a cost to conditioning but if you do it in slow gains and slow drops you eventually come off better each year.

As a rule I wouldn't do a full drop every year - (comp every second).

Training has been mostly geared to strength - similar to powerlifting in that I prefer free weights and low reps. My slow metabolism is a bonus for gaining size but a challenge when coming into a show.

Taking a year off dieting to just eat lots and train extra heavy will do wonders for your growth (I have just done a full year off everything so body is a sponge) - as soon as you start restricting calories to the extent a bodybuilder does causes your body to go into lockdown and it tries to save itself. (Unless you know what your doing).

I started training on and off from when I was 16 (6 months here and there) but didn't fully sellout to bodybuilding until I was 21. (I wish I had been consistant from then - I'd be a mountain now. I qualified around then as a PT and studied nutrition while I worked. Entered my first show on the back of 4 clients convincing me to start conditioning at the same time as they did... rest is history.

Takes a lot of time - and trial and error to grow big - although I am never satisfied with my size even over 130+ kg --- completely relate to BIG KIWI on that front. (Similar problem but have it reasonably under control now :nod: )

i duno... i think optimas has what he is doing under control ramy

[Optimass]

how are you cooking them? i use to scramble them with a slice of low fat cheese to get some texture into it however i found the best way to cook them without additives is to boil them and you lose no nutrients or water from the egg when you boil them and you simply cut and pop the yolks out and they taste alot better and mouth doenst get bored from chewing and chewing and its got a bit more texture.

just microwave them in a bowl mate .... no thought required

[ramy]

i was never critising optimass and i realise he knows what hes doing but i SUSPECTED he was scrambling his eggs which is why hes adding all those yolks as i use to do this as well and because i work on a poultry farm i think i know what i am talking about aswell...i was marely letting him know that taste isnt worth all the fat of 8 eggs i just read his post above that and saw that he was eating 10 yolks. maybe hes cutting now? i havnt read many of the other posts. everyone knows egg yolks are high in fat but its different when you have numbers in your face. its the same as spending money you may think your not spending alot when you spend often but when you add it all up it shows...

[Optimass]

i was never critising optimass and i realise he knows what hes doing but i SUSPECTED he was scrambling his eggs which is why hes adding all those yolks as i use to do this as well and because i work on a poultry farm i think i know what i am talking about aswell...i was marely letting him know that taste isnt worth all the fat of 8 eggs i just read his post above that and saw that he was eating 10 yolks. maybe hes cutting now? i havnt read many of the other posts. everyone knows egg yolks are high in fat but its different when you have numbers in your face. its the same as spending money you may think your not spending alot when you spend often but when you add it all up it shows...

What sort of eggs do you guys do? organic ...free range ... Omega ... ?/?/

[ramy]

What sort of eggs do you guys do? organic ...free range ... Omega ... ?/?/

normal cage layers. nearly 400 000.

[Optimass]

What sort of eggs do you guys do? organic ...free range ... Omega ... ?/?/

normal cage layers. nearly 400 000.

Thats a lot of chicks to service