Competitive bodybuilders typically have three to five percent body fat at their leanest. Content creator and non-competitive bodybuilder Tristyn Lee endeavored to those levels under Renaissance Periodization coach Jared Feather before rebounding to seven percent and remaining super shredded.
In late November, Lee flexed his ripped physique with Colin Weng, a fellow YouTuber boasting over a million subscribers from his reaction videos lifting ungodly weights, for a push-pull collab.
[Related: What Is a Healthy Body Fat Percentage?]
Lee’s Morning Hustle
Lee wakes up at 3:00 a.m. Why that early? Simple: zero distractions. How sustainable that is might be unique to Lee as research has shown that “middle of the night awakenings reported significantly worse mental and physical health status and worse health utilities.” (1)
Lee starts the day with morning essentials: water and electrolytes to ensure hydration while carb-depleted. Shortly after, he fuels up with a pre-cardio power breakfast featuring four ounces of grass-fed ground beef, 250 grams of sweet potatoes, and 125 grams of pickles for 27 grams of protein, 52 grams of carbs, and 9 grams of fat.
Lee heads to the gym for an hour-long walk, or roughly 8,000 steps. Post-cardio, he checks in with Feather, who’s stoked about Lee’s progress and hopes to get Lee to eventually compete on stage.
Pre-Workout Fuel
In the morning, Lee preps for weight training with four ounces of grass-fed sirloin steak, 100 grams of asparagus, and an apple for fast-digesting carbs 90 minutes pre-workout.
Lee focuses deeply on quality nutrition, especially meat, “The omega-6 profile of grain-fed as opposed to grass-fed meat is completely different,” he advised. “Any inflammation of the gut will affect the absorption of any foods.”
Push-Pull Workout — 505-Pound Rows
“It’s a whole ordeal structuring my training,” Lee admitted when planning his workouts, deciding on chest, delts, and biceps. He started with 45-degree incline dumbbell chest flyes, biasing the upper pecs via deep eccentrics, then crushed 180-pound dumbbell presses on a flat bench.
For mid-delts and shoulder width, Lee demonstrated his strength, handling lateral raises of 40-pounders with nearly straight arms. With reverse dieting, Lee “gained seven pounds since reaching my shredded peak. This might be the start of my road to 200 pounds,” he previewed, alluding to a new bulking cycle.
Meanwhile, Weng displayed his strength in the other corner with barbell bent-over rows. 405 pounds was light work for the beefy lifter, who upped to 505 pounds for two sets of five reps. “It felt heavy,” Weng admitted, using a bit of body English.
Post-Workout Refuel
After weights, Lee brandished a platter of red meat; feeling nostalgic, he joked, “This takes me back to the carnivore [diet] days,” when he ate only meat. The post-workout meal comprised eight ounces of grass-fed beef sirloin and jasmine rice, with 100 grams of asparagus, clocking 52 grams of protein, 120 grams of carbs, and 15 grams of fat.
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Reference
- Moline M, DiBonaventura Md, Shah D, Ben-Joseph R. Impact of middle-of-the-night awakenings on health status, activity impairment, and costs. Nat Sci Sleep. 2014 Jul 23;6:101-11. doi: 10.2147/NSS.S66696. PMID: 25093001; PMCID: PMC4114905.
Featured image: @tristynleeofficial on Instagram
