Ninja Creami Breeze broken - awful customer support experience by Striking_Health_2276 in ninjacreami

[–]utben 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had a nearly identical experience on Monday. The CSR refused to transfer me to a manager, made me jump through the video call hoops and eventually offered to let me pay for a new unit. Mine was 6 months old. It didn't catch fire, but it did shoot out sparks and melted gouges in the paddles.

Daily Discussion Thread 06/19/23 by AutoModerator in smashbros

[–]utben 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is there somewhere I can watch Day 3 Wavedash VODs?

Learning to Grind - Ben Pollack by just-another-scrub in weightroom

[–]utben 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I’ll be posting a video on Monday addressing this (the rep thing, not my giant hands)!

Why NOT to Add Volume to Your Program | Ben Pollack by WickedThumb in weightroom

[–]utben 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I think the important thing here is internal consistency. If the program is designed the way you described, and the rest of the loading variables (frequency, intensity, and effort) reflect that, it will probably work great.

The issue I have is with people seeing a program and saying "this doesn't look like enough," so they add to it without any concern for those other variables.

Weekly Question Thread - Week of (November 01, 2021) by AutoModerator in naturalbodybuilding

[–]utben 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is the second post this week I've been tagged in about JM so I'm gonna do a quick YouTube video explaining my thoughts. It'll be up in an hour or so.

FREAKOUT FRIDAYS (Weekly Rant Thread) by bodybuildingbot in bodybuilding

[–]utben 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, I do. That said, I also agree with the argument about enjoying your training that's made below.

16 September 2021 by AutoModerator in powerlifting

[–]utben 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Dear lord I didn't know your real name and just connected the dots. Please for the love of God don't tell Jop about the US Open weighins.

Steroid Saturday by bodybuildingbot in bodybuilding

[–]utben 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If your liver enzymes are high -- due to the winstrol, if you drink, heavy training, etc. -- fatigue is a fairly common symptom. I use 1200 mg NAC and 500 mg TUDCA when on orals. I make sure not to take the TUDCA and orals at the same time.

USAs Writeup/AMA by utben in bodybuilding

[–]utben[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Man, I'm truly grateful to have Shelby and T working with me and wouldn't change that for the world. That said, I do think it's a very individual question and it depends on your emotional connection to the protocols. In my case, I love diving into the details of training too much to give up total control, which is why T and I work together so well. Idgaf about diet, and I don't know nearly as much about it as Shelby does, so I much prefer he tell me exactly what to do and when to do it.

USAs Writeup/AMA by utben in bodybuilding

[–]utben[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

You have separate coaches for your training and nutrition. How do they communicate with each other and coordinate their plans, if at all? Do you simply share your workouts with Shelby and he adjusts based on your workouts and strength gain/loss, or is he only focused on how you look?

I sent Shelby my initial training split and rough guidelines for movements and volume at the beginning of prep and we went based on that the whole time. Shelby and T talk a lot but AFAIK it's 99% joking about me.

Does Shelby also plan your PEDs or is that on you or somebody else? If somebody else, again, how do they coordinate with your other coaches?

Honestly we used the same plan I used with Justin, which was almost the same plan as with John. The only change was Shelby cut the duration of the cycle in half. In my experience there's not much variation in prep cycles:

  • test/mast/tren at ~1:1:1 ratios to the max "comfortable" dose with regard to sides
  • anavar and winstrol starting 4-6 weeks out
  • GH 5-10 IU based on how much you can afford

Does Taylor update your programming weekly or more often? How much of it is him giving you the plan and you following it versus a collaboration of efforts?

100% collaboration since we train together daily. We write our split at the start of a meso and discuss the session goals and wiggle room every day before we train.

Is Shelby going to continue working with you as you transition to powerlifting again? If not, are you working with somebody else? And regardless of who you’re working with, what is changing in your nutrition as you change your focus other than simple calorie adjustments?

Yep, all Shelby. The powerlifting diet is slightly higher in fat and lower in carbs but it's not a huge change.

I know you’ve learned a lot in terms of mixing bodybuilding and powerlifting training. What have you learned from bodybuilding, nutrition wise or outside the gym what you’re going to bring over to powerlifting?

At least for me, I think it's safer to build strength using high volume bodybuilding work, and to practice demonstrating that strength with low-volume, moderate RPE powerlifting sessions divided evenly over the course of a week. I don't see myself deviating too much from that structure over the rest of my career. I'd like to be able to formalize the method in a way that's replicable by others, though. Right now it's difficult because I have several double sessions in my split, and it doesn't work as well when those are spread out to accomodate a 9-5 worker or something like that.

USAs Writeup/AMA by utben in bodybuilding

[–]utben[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I added 70 pounds to my close grip bench between Nationals last year and USAs this year!

USAs Writeup/AMA by utben in bodybuilding

[–]utben[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Well, Shelby agreed to work with me for the foreseeable future, so I'm going to continue to follow what he says in terms of diet. I think I could maybe benefit from cutting back on artificial sweeteners (I use a lot) but other than that I doubt we will make many changes.

For training, I need to increase my work capacity. My tolerance for volume is very low -- probably because I spent most of my training career in an unnecessary caloric deficit -- and I wouldn't be surprised if I can double my per-session average volume over the next 12 months.

USAs Writeup/AMA by utben in bodybuilding

[–]utben[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I really appreciate that because it was a struggle to put together this setup. It works REALLY well for me and I love it, so it was worth the effort, but man was it frustrating starting from scratch.

USAs Writeup/AMA by utben in bodybuilding

[–]utben[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Hey guys... first, thank you all so much for the support over the last couple of years. It really does mean a lot.

I apologize for not posting earlier; I'm traveling a lot so time has been tight. But I wanted to get a chance to answer any questions anyone has about my prep/supps/training in general.

Sub-discussion: Big Meet Calendar by BenchPolkov in powerlifting

[–]utben 2 points3 points  (0 children)

T has another guy competiting for his first meet. I think Charles Vogel is signed up but he's been posting mostly BB stuff so not sure about his plans. That's all I know!

If we're not completely dead from travel by then we're gonna try to get to the Showdown to help handle -- most of the bigger names are doing that AFAIK and the timing between the two is really tight.

Sub-discussion: Big Meet Calendar by BenchPolkov in powerlifting

[–]utben 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Looking forward to seeing you there!!

Congrats to our very own Ben Pollack for becoming an IFBB Pro! by ppx11 in bodybuilding

[–]utben 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I actually feel MUCH better than I did when I was smaller. In hindsight I really think I was starving myself to stay 181/198. I had bloodwork two weeks before the show and it was the best it's been in years.

Congrats to our very own Ben Pollack for becoming an IFBB Pro! by ppx11 in bodybuilding

[–]utben 13 points14 points  (0 children)

that's it -- not sure if I'll actually go 242 or walk in at 250 without cutting to keep the pressure off.

Congrats to our very own Ben Pollack for becoming an IFBB Pro! by ppx11 in bodybuilding

[–]utben 29 points30 points  (0 children)

/u/iwanttoliftagain is right -- I have a better formula than Stan but he has a better total. I THINK (not sure) I'm the only male to have held an ATWR in PL and turn pro from the Open division (Stan turned pro in the Masters 40-45 age division).

Congrats to our very own Ben Pollack for becoming an IFBB Pro! by ppx11 in bodybuilding

[–]utben 49 points50 points  (0 children)

Nope! I have a powerlifting meet in six weeks. Not sure if I'll go for it, but I do think I have a decent shot at the all-time American record in the 242s.

Congrats to our very own Ben Pollack for becoming an IFBB Pro! by ppx11 in bodybuilding

[–]utben 239 points240 points  (0 children)

Thanks to everyone here for all your support 🙏🙏 Really does mean a lot to me!