So my target date is April 26th for the INBF competition. But I’m also thinking of doing another one 2 weeks ahead of that one on April 12th. This one is NPC Texas Shredder Classic in Austin. It’s suppose to be natural…they use random polygraph, I know they’re not as strict as INBF but at least they test a little.
I figure I can use this prep for both contests…they’re not too far apart. But this would put me a little over 3 weeks out from the first one. I’m really honed in on the April 26th show since it’s here in Houston and I would have famliy and friends attending, but maybe use the April 12th show to get my feet wet. Any thoughts on this? Advantages or disadvantages? I would like to go in as a novice on both shows.
[quote]yodaddy wrote:
So my target date is April 26th for the INBF competition. But I’m also thinking of doing another one 2 weeks ahead of that one on April 12th. This one is NPC Texas Shredder Classic in Austin. It’s suppose to be natural…they use random polygraph, I know they’re not as strict as INBF but at least they test a little.
I figure I can use this prep for both contests…they’re not too far apart. But this would put me 3 weeks out from the first one. I’m really honed in on the April 26th show since it’s here in Houston and I would have famliy and friends attending, but maybe use the April 12th show to get my feet wet. Any thoughts on this? Any advantages or disadvantages to this? I would like to go in as a novice on both shows.
[/quote]
Sounds like a good plan to me, you’ll have enough time between shows to get back to your shredded state after a couple free meals following the first show!
If finances are not an issue, then go for it.
It will get rid of some of the nerves since you will have one contest under your belt prior to the main one you are focused on.
I’m starting to feel a few pains coming in…this is normally where I take a week off. Seems like my hip flexor is a little strained…I’m now staying away from low heavy squats which seem to irritate it most, stretching and foam rolling the area. Also, my inner elbow has a pain when I extend my arm a certain way. And I feel a small tweak in my shoulder. Injuries are nothing new and these seem minor, I won’t work through them, but work around them…choose exercises where I don’t feel pain and focus on good stretching and foam rolling.
For example, I feel pain in my inner elbow when doing deadlifts, however, if I use an underhand grip it feels much better. Hopefully they will go away in the next week or so. This week has been good so far working around the injuries. I just need to stick it through…only 3 weeks left for my first competition on April 12th…I’ll be doing a second one April 26th.
Just remember that as you get leaner, your chances of hurting yourself can potentially increase. You have days where you’re a bit unfocused, the little bit of ‘padding’ you’re used to isn’t there anymore, perhaps some extra ‘meat’ that provided stability to a weaker joint has atrophied some…
A day or two off if you truly need it won’t ruin your prep, but be smart if you must do so. I’m not one to ever suggest doing any less than your best, BUT, if you push too hard when you’re having slight pains, you won’t be too happy in the long run.
You did a very good job on lowering your bodyfat, man! Nice! =D If someone didn’t mention it already, you’ve got a very nice build. Very pleasing to the eyes, you will look awesome with more muscle mass. =)
[quote]Tatsu wrote:
You did a very good job on lowering your bodyfat, man! Nice! =D If someone didn’t mention it already, you’ve got a very nice build. Very pleasing to the eyes, you will look awesome with more muscle mass. =)[/quote]
I’m pumped for you man, you’re gonna kill it! Echoing Stu’s thoughts, be careful with pushing too hard in training right now. The hard work to get contest ready is about done at this point, now you’re training to retain muscle. Obviously you gotta train hard to retain strength and muscle, but there’s not a lot of benefit to digging yourself a deep hole to recover from 3 weeks out, especially if a few of the big lifts are causing you discomfort. Kind of a quirk of mine, whenever I have a certain event or date that’s a ways off that I’m looking forward to, I choose an event every couple of weeks to look ahead to to break up the longer time period into chunks. Right now, I’m excited to see you compete in 3 weeks! I’ll be 5 weeks out at that point, thanks for helping my prep go faster for me
And by the way, enjoy the ride these next weeks! You’ve achieved a level of conditioning the typical gym rat only ever dreams of, so enjoy the process!
[quote]pwolves17 wrote:
I’m pumped for you man, you’re gonna kill it! Echoing Stu’s thoughts, be careful with pushing too hard in training right now. The hard work to get contest ready is about done at this point, now you’re training to retain muscle. Obviously you gotta train hard to retain strength and muscle, but there’s not a lot of benefit to digging yourself a deep hole to recover from 3 weeks out, especially if a few of the big lifts are causing you discomfort. Kind of a quirk of mine, whenever I have a certain event or date that’s a ways off that I’m looking forward to, I choose an event every couple of weeks to look ahead to to break up the longer time period into chunks. Right now, I’m excited to see you compete in 3 weeks! I’ll be 5 weeks out at that point, thanks for helping my prep go faster for me ;)[/quote]
Thanks buddy. I’ve definitely been motivated by keeping up with your thread. And yeah, I’m learning to take it easy. I’ve always been use to doing the big lifts(like most T-Nation readers)…But I’m focusing more on bodybuilding type exercises in the last few weeks…higher reps, less weight. They’re safer as long as I work around any pain. You and Stu are right, there’s no benefit in trying to break PRs in any big lifts right now.
Today, fasted, upon wakening, med carbs the night before, but I did do a 24 hour fast on Thursday, finished about 36 hours ago. Keep in mind, the last pics I uploaded 10 days ago were taken post chest/delt training and carb loaded. These are fasted, pre-training, no water.
I had dropped all caffeine(I’m a big coffee drinker) and pre-workouts 2 months ago, except for coffee pre-training. I now added HOT-ROX and went back to drinking coffee…hopefully will give me a little bump in my progress the last few weeks.
Weighed at 168lbs(the lowest I have been) when I took these pics…but this may have been from the fasting 2 days ago. Will weigh myself again in a few days. Still keeping my higher carb days on the weekend.
[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:
Don’t worry too much about what you weigh. Just keep plugging along as long as the mirror is giving you good feedback (which it is!)[/quote]
You’re right. I just care that I look leaner and fuller than my competition.
I’m looking to pick it up a notch. I will make the time, if it will help. Just added HOT-ROX last week. So far I’ve been doing 5 days weight training, 2-3 HIIT sessions per week, 2 days low intensity cardio. Averaging 2500 calories per days, with high carb/calorie and low carb/calorie days, a 24 hour fast every other week(I make up my calories though). I also have a refeed day on Sundays.
Does anyone have a recommendation on what I can add to tighten me up as much as possible without losing muscle? My choices would be: add more HIIT, add more cardio, an extra day of weight training, longer HIIT sessions, drop the refeed days, add an extra low carb day, or drop overall calories a bit. I really haven’t changed anything the last 2 months, except my weight training routine and added HOT-ROX.
After typing this is, it seems like I’m already doing enough, but I’m willing to do what it takes to improve…especially after the sacrifices so far. I’m less than 3 weeks away from my 1st competition and 5 weeks from my 2nd. I’ve been training for 15+ years but…this is where I least have experience in, as I’ve never been leaner than this, and the next few weeks could make me or break me.
I know there can be so many responses and everyone is different but it won’t hurt me to listen to any advice or past experiences from others.
