[quote]v996 wrote:
[quote]SkyNett wrote:
V996 - you look familiar. Are you the guy from Natty Nutrition?
Either way - awesome physique. : )[/quote]
Nope, I’m the construciton worker from West Virginia… lol[/quote]
Lol - sorry. You look similar…
Just a quick update. I’m currently at the hotel and have my tan all done. Got all my meals in and ready to hit the bed.
Awesome work man. Good luck!
You clearly worked your butt off. I think you can KILL at the show in 5 weeks. Looking forward to the new thread.
[quote]davidcox1 wrote:
[quote]plateau wrote:
[quote]thoughts1053 wrote:
I’m going to hit the gym one last time and then head out to NJ for check in, polygraph, and spray tanning. [/quote]
Polygraph?!
To test if you’re using super supps or something else?[/quote]
Silly. Polygraphs help you cut up like nothing else–all that sweating really brings down the water levels.
[/quote]
lol, I’d fail a polygraph just from the tension
Hey guys,
So I’m heading hone from Jersey right now. I placed 3rd in the Novice class. Didn’t place in open but it was stacked class. I’m happy with everything and will provide you all with a more detailed update tomorrow after iHop. Lol
Congratulations on your first show! Now enjoy your ihop lol
Congrats on the 3rd place! Now that the nerves are out of the way, you’ll walk in like you own the place in 5 weeks.
[quote]thoughts1053 wrote:
Hey guys,
So I’m heading hone from Jersey right now. I placed 3rd in the Novice class. Didn’t place in open but it was stacked class. I’m happy with everything and will provide you all with a more detailed update tomorrow after iHop. Lol[/quote]
Very respectable for your first show!
[quote]thoughts1053 wrote:
Hey guys,
So I’m heading hone from Jersey right now. I placed 3rd in the Novice class. Didn’t place in open but it was stacked class. I’m happy with everything and will provide you all with a more detailed update tomorrow after iHop. Lol[/quote]
whats do you mean by stacked?
Good job man, will be following along until the next show and beyond!
Great showing brother. The fact that the federation you competed in goes by height, I’m sure you got beat in the Open by guys weighing about 150-160 lbs but seriously diced. We just need to keep pushing these next five weeks, and I think you can definitely place in the Open.
Very proud of you!
S
Great job! How did those oreos, m&ms, etc taste afterwards? 
[quote]optheta wrote:
[quote]thoughts1053 wrote:
Hey guys,
So I’m heading hone from Jersey right now. I placed 3rd in the Novice class. Didn’t place in open but it was stacked class. I’m happy with everything and will provide you all with a more detailed update tomorrow after iHop. Lol[/quote]
whats do you mean by stacked?[/quote]
“stacked” means that the class had a lot of really top quality competitors
Hey guys,
Alright…sorry for taking so long to post this, but I needed to lay down for a while this morning. Warning: This is a LONG post and will come in 3 parts. So grab a seat, get a coffee and let’s go.
Chapter 1: T Minus One
So Friday morning I wake up and feel like crap from depleting all week. I immediately go and get some carbs in me to start the day. My main goal today is to get all my meals in to carb up, get a few errands done, hit the gym for a little while, and get my ass over to the hotel in Jersey. Everything is going smoothly and I’m just relaxing getting my meals in. I head over to the gym and just do a short pump type workout. After depleting all week, this workout feels great. I’m getting a wonderful pump due to the carbs and practice my posing in the mirror. I’m hitting Chest and Shoulders just to get a little balance between my lower body and upper body as in some poses my lower body can be a bit dominating.
Afterwards, I go get a couple errands done and while my girlfriend is getting her hair done (yeah she’s competing too…in figure…and she looks great), I go get a mani/pedi (no judgements here). For sure the ladies there were making fun of me. They ask me if I shave my legs and in the deepest voice possible, I say “Yeah, I’m a bodybuilder”. They definitely have a few laughs at my expense, but whatever :). After we’re all done, we head home to get in more of our meals and pack up our bags to go.
More carbs later and our bags all set, we’re waiting on my girlfriend’s family to get to my place as they’re driving us to Jersey. They live in Connecticut and got stuck in traffic so get here late. We had to be in Jersey for a 7pm polygraph, not counting checking in, and an 830pm tanning appointment. They didn’t get here till 530 and it takes like 2 hours to get to Jersey from where I am, so you can say I was getting a bit stressed out at this point. We hop in the car finally and with my girlfriend driving we’re on our way. On the way there, my stress levels started to rise, plus my stomach was killing me from all the water I’ve chugged at this point, lol. Plus being hispanic, let’s just say that this group wasn’t the quietest bunch, lol. I take a nap and feel a little better afterward but we still gotta get there.
Just at 8, we arrive at the hotel. We run in with our bags just to start getting the process started (we didn’t want to miss tanning as we would be charged). We check in quickly, hand in our posing music, and fill out some paperwork for the polygraph. We run up to the room for tanning to ask them if we had time to do our polygraph first (you normally want to get it done in that order so your tan isn’t messed up). The ladies told us if there was no one there we could go since we had 20 minutes. Luckily, when we went down to the polygraph there wasn’t anyone in line. My girlfriend went first and when she was done she ran up to the tanning and I went in. I told the guy I had a tanning appointment and he said he can get me done in 5 minutes…perfect. Just doing this alone was making me nervous. I know I never used an illegal supplement my whole life but just being in this position was making me rethink if I had, lol. Basically the questions included were: if I had ever used steroids, anything illegal on the OCB listed of banned substances, and seriously lied to make myself look better.
After passing the polygraph, I head up to the tanning room and my girlfriend is BLACK, lol. I start undressing as I’m going to spray as she is drying, yeah multitasking. I try to take a before picture which I’ll post but the color is a bit off on my phone so bear with me. Once my girlfriend is done, I get in the booth and strip down. (Note: following information is graphic, skip if you are sensitive, lol) I strip down totally naked and stuff my package, sack and all lol, into a baby sock. Man, those things are stretchy lol. The lady said she got two large lightbulbs in there :). So there I am, naked with a baby sock on my junk having two ladies spray me. At one point I have to bend over and she rolls my crack, lol. I get two coats done and once finished I take a look at myself…WHOA, I look like a different person. It definitely brings out the definition.
Finally, we can actually check into the hotel and get our room. We get in our last few meals, spend some relaxing time with the family and head to sleep in separate beds (don’t want to ruin our tans). At this point, I just want to lay down and close my eyes. I know I won’t be getting much sleep as I haven’t all week. Plus I’ll be making tons of trips to the bathroom
Chapter 2 after the break!
Chapter 2: My 15 Minutes of Fame
So it’s finally game day. Time for all my hard work and prep to pay off. I wake up around 7am…earlier than I had planned and grab a couple of bananas to eat, yummy. I lay back down for a while as my girlfriend is having her mom do her make-up. We don’t have to be at the venue until 10 and it’s only 20 minutes away. Around 8, my wake up call comes in and I hop out of bed. I get ready pretty quickly; not much for me to do. Once my girlfriend is done (females, right), we all check out of our rooms and pack up the car to head to the venue.
We get there a little while later and it’s pretty nice. We sign up to get the official photographers pictures (memories) and grab a seat in the auditorium for the competitors meeting. We take a look backstage and there’s already a bunch of competitors there. Tanning ladies are there doing touch ups and there’s already a bunch of people stationed around with their coaches. It’s time for the competitor’s meeting so we head back to the auditorium. Joe Franco runs us through the venue rules; it’s a nice place and he wants us to keep it that way. And he let’s us know what the mandatory poses are and the order of events will be. He tells us that his show is very well run and organized and we won’t ever have a question about what we need to do…good for us. He also let’s us know there are 47 competitors at the event which I found out from a figure girl is a decent sized show, not too big not too small.
After the meeting is over, we head back stage as the show will start in 30 minutes. My girlfriend and I grab our stuff and set up camp in a nice spot near the tanners. We get our touch-ups, figure girls first as they go on before the men. There are a lot of people backstage between all the competitors and coaches. It’s a lot different than I initially expected. I thought most of the people would be competitive and sizing you up. But everyone had smiles and was willing to talk. Before we know it, the show is starting. And it goes fast (the story of the day). Before we even knew it, my girlfriend had to get in line to head out on stage. She barely had a chance to pump up and still had to get ‘bite’ (basically glue that holds your suit in place). After pumping for 5 minutes, getting ‘bite’ and glazed (makes you look shiny), she gets in line and heads out to stage for her 1st of 3 classes. She’s now on stage for debut (first time competitors) and I’m sure she’s nervous…I’m getting nervous for her, lol.
After she comes back, it’s time for me to start pumping up. I get whatever pump I can get (more on that in the next chapter), get my glaze (no bite for me, lol). And head for my line up for Novice Group 1 (out of 2). I get in a few more push-ups before heading out and here we go. I walk out on stage and try to keep everything tight. If I thought my heart was racing before, now it’s no joke, lol. After getting lined up on stage I put on a big smile and look into the audience. My family is just grabbing their seats (perfect timing) so now I’m pumped. I stare at the back (as Stu told me :)), keep a big smile, and just hit the poses that they tell me. I try to hit them all like I practiced and keep everything tight (again more on that later). Go through all the mandatories and by the end I’m just hot, tired and sweating like a beast (plus my face hurts from the smiling). After what feels like both an eternity and just a second at the same time, we head off stage. They didn’t move me the whole time and I was near the middle so I felt good. I get another touch up from the tanners (actually more of a dry up due to the sweating, lol) and start getting my girlfriend ready for her next class.
We’re back stage getting in some carbs, talking to some other competitors and just listening for what we’re supposed to do. It all flies so fast. The whole prejudging was done in an hour and a half. My girlfriend went back on for two more classes and I went back on for Men’s Open Group 1 (out of 2). I go for the pump again and line up for my second showing. I feel a little better this time, but not much, lol. We walk out and this class is bigger (total of 9 people). I get out there and again all I’m thinking is about hitting my poses, smiling, and staring at that spot on the wall. I’m near the middle so I’m like “Don’t move me”. Seconds later, I hear “Number 26 (me) and Number 43 switch places”. I look over and this guy is on the very end…DAMN. So, now I’m on the end and thinking now let me just do this for my family. (Side note: After talking with my family and my girlfriend and looking at the pictures after I realize they put me on the end next to someone that could have been my brother to compare us. We have the same exact build and very similar symmetry and size. Yeah, this guy had me beat, but it was my first showing and this guy was a seasoned competitor. He came in 3rd btw) The whole time all I hear is my family and my girlfriend and her family cheering me on (They’re definitely the loudest bunch) and it’s so motivating when you’re up there. We head off stage and it’s finally time for a break.
We grab a few things and meet up with our families. They give us hugs and kisses and congratulate us. They head off to go eat and do some shopping until the finals and my girlfriend and I stay back to relax. We just lay out on the grass as it was a beautiful day and practice our routines a little bit. Our family comes back and we head in to another competitor’s meeting. Joe tells us the rundown of the evening show and we head backstage again to get back to business. Figure girls go first and then intermission and then men so I don’t have anything to do for a couple hours. So I just help my girlfriend get ready, get her things she needs and let her do her thing. When she’s getting ready to do her T-walk, I run out to the audience so i can watch her in action. Man, she looks good and the audience is loving her too. More people than just our family are cheering her on and there’s a bunch of strangers next to me taking her photo. I head back when she was done and now it’s just smooth sailing for her from here. After all the females get through their walks, they send out all the classes again in their lines and give out awards. She ends up getting 4th in Novice Group 1 and 4th in Open Group 1. She definitely had some bling to show off; now it’s time for me to get some. But first it was time for intermission.
So during intermission, I stay backstage and just pump up. I’m actually getting a bit better one now than this morning as I had a bit more carbs between prejudging and finals. I wait in line to go out to do my routine. When it’s my turn I walk out and my heart is racing the most it’s been all day. Now I’m the only one out there and all eyes are on me. I’ve practiced my routine (not nearly enough) and my goal was to simply get through it without falling lol. I head through my routine of course with that big smile, keeping everything tight and holding each pose enough for the audience. I pump up the crowd, get a big cheer and end with a crab most muscular. I get off stage and finally it’s time to relax. i line up for each of my classes, hit a few poses for the crowd while we’re out there and they send us off and call us out for our awards. Like I said earlier, I ended with 3rd in the Novice Group 1. Not as much bling as my girlfriend, but I’m still happy.
We pack up our stuff, say congrats to a few of the other competitors and meet up with our families. I down a bag of M&Ms and some oreos almost immediately. We take a few pictures and say bye to my girlfriend’s family (they’re heading back to CT). We head to TGIF with my family (was supposed to be Texas Roadhouse but at this point we just want to go to something that’s close and convenient). I devoured basically two appetizers and a giant loaded burger plus homemade Flan dessert (started with this). Definitely ate too much and this was a lesson for the future. We head back home to NY and I just relax in the car. At this time, my girlfriend and I can only talk about our next show, lol. We’re excited about this night and are looking to do even better in the future. We get home, say bye and head up to relax. I have a few more oreos and chocolate covered pretzels and we call it a night. Well my girlfriend does. I couldn’t sleep all night again (not surprised) and was just looking at the photos.
Last and final chapter next (still here???)
Chapter 3: Epilogue
The Next Day: I wake up, well really sit up, as I haven’t slept all night and hit the bathroom. At this point, from all the junk I stuffed down last night, I’m basically a stinky one man band lol. After finishing my business, I take a look at myself and besides the pregnant belly, I’m looking pretty good. Definitely more vascular and some decent definition. I’m enjoying this :). My girlfriend and I head to a local restaurant for breakfast (no iHop, I would of had to get a zipcar and again just want something convenient) and I get some french toast, eggs, and sausage. I learned my lesson last night to not over do it. We’re still excited from the previous night and talk about it over the food. Heading back home, it all hits me. My body starts aching like crazy; I was already pretty sore which Stu had warned me about, but now its getting much worse. By the time I get home, I feel like I was hit by a bus; well really I feel like I did every single back exercise ever invented, lol. I lay down and take a quick nap. After waking, I still feel sore and tight, but my wonderful girlfriend (she’s prob reading this lol) gives me a massage and it makes it sooo much better. Afterwards, we go grab some more food and here I am finishing this chapter. I plan to relax the rest of the day, catch a movie, and get some more food. I didn’t really pig out today like I planned but after last night I realize that’s probably a good thing, lol.
Tanning: I just want to give my experience on this. I’ve never applied my own tan, but after going the spray tanning route, I don’t think I will ever do it differently. The ladies made the experience really fast, simple, and enjoyable. Plus my color came out great. They really treated you to the best of their abilities and helped you with any questions, touch-ups or general problems you had. Although it’s a bit more expensive than applying the tan yourself, I would really recommend this to anyone who competes at a show that offers it. Note that they used Liquid Sun Rayz, which I read is the best for spray tanning. If you’re going this route, maybe you should email the sprayers in advance in order to check on what product they’re using and what they offer for touch ups.
Posing: I just wanted to touch on my posing a bit. Now I wasn’t bad by any bit but I definitely should have practiced MUCH more. There were competitors that absolutely were horrible and I think I was one of the ones with the most polished posing. BUT I need to practice more to find out what looks best for me. After looking at the pictures, I tried posing my legs differently and WOW what a difference. Also, at the time, I thought I was keeping everything tight, but looking at the pictures some poses I would flex something and forget another. In another pose I would flex that but then forget something else, lol. I just have to get everything together. Lastly, I need to be comfortable enough with my posing to be able to switch it up based on where I am on stage. When I was in the middle, it was fine to just do what I was used to. But when they moved me to the end, I should have realized that now I need to twist more towards the judges, flex my opposite leg so the judges can see it better, etc.
Pumping: Man, I could not get a good pump. I haven’t even talked to Stu about this yet (I’m letting him enjoy his Sunday before I start bugging him, lol), but I’m sure once I do talk to him he’ll know how to fix it immediately. Again this is a learning experience for the both of us (me cause I’ve never done this and him cause he hasn’t worked with me before). Pumping up backstage, even when I had enough time, I just couldn’t get vascular or get really full. I’ve had some crazy pumps in the gym before, I mean look at my avatar (and that’s on under 200g of carbs for the day). I think it might have been one of two things (but I could be totally wrong…Stu knows better than I). 1. Either I should have carbed up more on Friday. I expected to look like absolute crap Friday night, but besides the pregnant look, lol, I had some nice vascularity. When I woke up Saturday my arms were smooth, but I figured vascularity would come with the pump later. 2. I needed to either wake up earlier to get in more meals Saturday or have bigger meals that morning. I only had like 3 or 4 meals before I started to have to pump before going on stage. For the evening show, with more carbs in me, I was definitely more vascular. Heck that night after my cheat I had veins coming out in places that they never have (quads, hams, lower abs, etc). Again, after I speak with Stu I know he’ll tell me exactly what to change for next show and if it was happening to him, with his experience, he would be able to fix it in seconds on game day. Like I said, this is all a learning experience and I’m happy with that…it’s fun.
Overall: What can I say…I had fun. I really enjoyed myself and it actually exceeded my expectations. Even if I hadn’t placed I would have been happy (but the award does help ). I’m proud of myself and my girlfriend and our accomplishments. I want to thank Stu for all his hard work in getting us to this stage. Now, on to the next one.
—Thanks for reading guys…I’ll have a bunch of photos and videos uploaded soon…I’m just going to relax for the rest of today
Wow–thanks for taking the time to share all that detail with us. Like I said earlier, posing is harder than most people think, and the best way to improve is to see yourself. I never video-taped myself so the first time I saw myself posing in motion was after the show (they offered official video for a price). Video taped posing practice is essential, at least until you know its ingrained. No matter, it sounds like you had a good competition.
very interesting read (even though I don’t intend to compete), thanks for sharing with such detail!
Wow.
A+ stuff on all accounts.