Maple Syrup Strength (littlesleeper)

04/28/2017

Yesterday’s Nutrition:
Totals Cals 2,150 Carb 148 Fat 98 Prot 168

I calculated in 1 Bud Light and 1.5oz of Vodka. I was BBQ’ing in our nicest day we have had this year and decided I had room in my nutrition for a couple drinks. IIFYM, bro.

Today’s weight:

204.6lbs, down 2lbs from yesterday. Weighed in after I downed a Finibar, damn these things are tasty. Tough to only eat 1 at a time. Lowest to date is 203lbs. It looks like to push past this I’ll need to really push.

Unfortunately I’m at an extremely busy time at work so there is a lot of added stress and hours right now. The deadline for this project is Wednesday, so as long as we can push it out by then I’ll have much less stress and will likely see the scale moving in the right direction again.

Finibar and Plazma pre/intra-workout this morning.

##Week 1 - 5/3/1 - 5’s PRO, BBB

Warmup/Giant Set: 5 Rounds
50 jump rope
10 OH Squats (45, 95 x 4)
3 Log Cleans (85, 155, 1815 x 3)
5 Weighted Dips (BW, +50, +75 x 3)

Weight felt good. I thought the high rep DLs were going to suck more than they did.

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Now that you’ve been using Plazma and such for a bit, you having any notable differences in workouts?

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I definitely like it. Tastes good, slight increase in energy levels and I seemingly don’t fade as much as I typically do by the end of my workouts. However, unfortunately between shipping, conversion rate, and border charges it ends up being ABSURDLY expensive. Unless I experienced some sort of steroid type improvements this just can’t be part of my regular stack. I’m loving the Finibars and am going to be very sad when they are gone.

I’m happy to have dropped some money on Biotest regardless for all the information, motivation, etc I’ve pulled from this site for free. I’ve also purchased CT and Paul Carter’s book, Jim’s new book, and T-shirts from Brian to support the people who I have received so much valuable information and time from.

Long story short. Supplement GOOD. Cost BAD (no fault to Biotest, my fault for being Canadian).

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Is your current job now related to psychology in any way?

The way I get around the cost of Plazma:

  • use one scoop per session: means one pack lasts me 20 sessions
  • only use on squat and DL day, so 20 sessions lasts me three months

manager in a hotel, so…

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If you need energy to push through your workout then try BCAAs + 1/2 a scoop of pre-workout (if you take that). I used to take 1 scoop before like usual and then took that mixture with me and sipped on it during the workout. I never faded.

I’m going to try to go supplement free for awhile though. Time to cycle off everything, even the creatine.

@MarkKO - Yes, there are definitely ways to spread it further. But am I reaping all the benefits it has by minimally supplementing and only supplementing with it on major training days? Would it not be more beneficial to consume a slightly lower quality supplement but actually following the prescribed servings? I have priced out a comparable ingredient stack and it will be nearly half price. Similar prices to Biotest, but it is a Canadian company, so no conversion, lower shipping and no border fees which is where the price ended up going through the roof.

It cost me ~$550CAD for 2 bags of Plazma, 3 bags of MD and 2 boxes of Finibars. Even if that lasts me 3 months, that’s getting close to the price of a Rogue Yoke that I’ve been eyeing up for purchase.

@Frank_C - I haven’t taken a pre-workout in awhile. I actually just picked up a little this morning though. Someone was selling a bag of creatine, 3 part containers of BCAA’s (one was barely touched) and 1 container of a pre-workout for $15 just up the road from me. Thanks for the suggestion!

Honestly, I think you can blend the approaches. I don’t find myself missing out by using a single scoop on lower body days - that’s still a good dose of carbs and protein. Then on upper body days I use a similar, inferior product. This seems to work.

To piggy back on Mark, I don’t take all my supps on days where I’m not training as hard. I have a product that’s a volumizer that I only take on days that I want to feel a pump. Some days I don’t have enough time to really get after it so I don’t waste the money.

I’ve also found that if I do my sprint workout before lifting then I don’t feel any of the effects of the pre-workouts. I burn through it before I start lifting.

You’re cutting out whey and bcaas too? Is there a bro-benefit to that? Or mainly to make weight gains in the wallet

Eh I don’t count those because they’re more nutritional type things. I can get them through diet but they’re nice on days where I need to catch up on protein.

I’m talking more about my creatine, beta alanine, and stimulant loaded pre-workouts.

I’m taking a break for my kidneys and liver since they have to filter all that stuff. My doctor is cool with me taking supps but she tells me to use a ratio of 1:1 for time on and off. I’ve been on for quite a while now.

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Word, just clarifying. I try “cycle off” of coffee too. Actually been leaning towards cutting it out completely, but then I remember I’m a working adult.

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No kidding. I measure my intake in pots. Cops live on caffeine and tobacco. I managed to quit chewing in 2011 and I avoid energy drinks so I think I’m doing pretty good.

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@MarkKO - That’s not a bad idea. I’ll see how I make out with the remaining quantity of my supps. I might run the course for my first experience using the products so I can say I gave them a genuine trial. I’ve been doing just Plazma for every workout, and having a pre-workout Finibar alongside Plazma for my squat/DL days. Thanks for the suggestions! Also, looking forward to hearing how you make out with ‘Training Maximally’.

@Frank_C - Thanks man. I also think it is a good idea not to take supps ‘just because’. Ensuring you are putting them to use is a big part of the puzzle. Thanks for the suggestion/comment!


Weekend Nutrition:
Horrible, but whatever.

I’ve been very strict with my diet until this weekend. Not one drop of alcohol in over a month (this is big for me), and not one unhealthy meal in a month.

This weekend I consumed:
Friday:
Mini eggs
Beer
Wine
Brownies

Saturday:
Extra meat pizza (this was godly, I needed this in my life)

Obviously there was more food, but the rest as my usual nutrition (eggs, avocado, spinach, chicken, etc).

Just before I devoured the pizza I decided to do a quick workout so that those carbs wouldn’t be completely wasted. So I decided to do the Mantathlon Challenge, even though my afternoon hangover was starting to set in…

Weight 204lbs:
Bench @ 205lbs = 28reps (not competition, banging this out T&G)
Chins @ BW = 25reps (not dead hanging each rep, only dead hang for last 5-6)
OHP @ 105lbs = 28reps (this surprised me)
Dips @ BW + 55lbs = 12reps (triceps were SHOT)
BB Curls @ 105lbs = 22reps (not super strict, not full cheat curls)

Pros of this challenge:

  • Short time to complete
  • Great pump, like I may consider doing this challenge before my ‘after shots’ for this challenge. I came upstairs and my wife said “Holy crap, your shoulders are massive”. When your wife notices your gains, you know it’s good! lol

Cons of this challenge:

  • For me, going for max reps in a challenge definitely sacrifices form which then discredits the movements I performed.
  • I prefer strength challenges rather than muscle endurance challenges.

I think I would have enjoyed the challenge more if there was a cap at 20 for each lift. That was a ceiling would be set for each lift and I could hold my form to try to hit a solid 20. This may have left some triceps in the tank for my dips as well.

So I did 115reps Total. I didn’t take a video, because honestly I felt like crap going into it and didn’t expect much of a performance. I just liked the thought of having a pre-designed workout under 20mins that I could do before eating pizza.

I’m not happy enough with my form in the lifts to submit my results against people who completed it in a more strict fashion.

I woke up this morning at 204.4lbs.
I was really expecting to be heavier after that much pizza and junk.

Back to being strict this week. Lets see what I can do for one more month! I’d really like to see that 199lbs!


Week 2 - 5/3/1 - 5’s PRO, BBB

I performed some jump rope and shoulder band work between press sets and I did 105lb DB rows x 10reps between bench sets.

A nice quick workout before heading to work. Speaking of work, one last week of stress then things should return to the norm again. I worked all weekend to hopefully make this week a little more manageable.

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Good job on the challenge mate! I’m sure you could get a perfect score if you capped at 20.

I wouldn’t be too worried about the booze. Every once in awhile you need to let go I think. Still gotta enjoy life!

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Yeah, that puts a bit of a damper on usage. Those are generally what I notice as well, that by the end of my normally scheduled workout I’m still looking for exercises to do, feeling pretty fresh and strong, but steroid-like improvements I have not found to be the case haha and if you can find something at least in the ball park for substantially less money it makes a lot more sense fiscally.
Leave it to a Canadian to get upset over shipping…

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Awesome job on the challenge! That’s a pretty beastly performance. For most of us it wasn’t an endurance challenge! I’m adding your score whether you like it or not. If you check out some of the videos then you’ll see that no one is being a form nazi on this one. The chin-ups haven’t been dead hang for one second and the curls have all had a bit of body English–not lower back jerking movements but not strict like someone with his back against a wall.

Perhaps some of that junk food and beer gave you a surge of dirty energy since you’re usually around 60g carbs per day.

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I just added your score…and I had to because you beat @brady888!!!

The original article actually has a 20 rep cap per exercise and a perfect score of 100. For the challenge we’re letting people go over 100 because it seems that it will determine a true winner instead of having a bunch of people tie at 100 (OK, so not a bunch but at least a few).

Here’s the rating scale for your score (if you follow the rules strictly):

0-10 – Low Man on totem pole
10-20 – Skinny Man or Man Boobs
20-30 – Average Man
30-40 – Wing Man
40-50 – Door Man
50-60 – Athletic Man
60-70 – He Man
70-80 – Super Man
80-90 – Mega Man
90-100 – Man of War

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@Irishman92 - Yea man, I had turned down a lot of events this past month which has really helped put me in a good spot for some physique improvements. I agree though, all in moderation. It was a fun ‘guys night’ (wife was away this weekend), when the women are away, the boys shall play. I MIGHT have been able to eek out 20 dips if the previous exercises were capped, but it would have been close. I’m still relatively new at weighted dips, and have plenty of room for improvement in that category. Figured that would be my weak point, which it was.

@Despade - Haha! Ya, while I do enjoy the product it is a tough pill to swallow dropping $550. I am far from giving up on the product though. I’m going to reevaluate once I finish my entire supply. Then I can see how long it lasted and place a personal value on it.

@Frank_C - Thanks man! Ya, I wasn’t throwing the weight up on the curls. Elbows were a little flared, and my shoulders had some back and forth movement to maintain the rhythm. Lower back/core was held straight and tight for the reps though. The dirty energy may have helped, but honestly was pretty shaky and light-headed after each exercise. Not saying this would have resulted in more reps, but I just would have felt much better while performing the movements! Haha, “Man of War”, I’ll take it! Thanks

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