7 Weeks Out From My First Comp

Training
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Hey guys,

I live in South Africa, and am about 7 weeks out from my first comp, IFBB Gauteng North Novices. I am working with John Meadows on my training and nutrition (and have been for the last 9-10 months or so) but have been specifically prepping for this comp for about 9 weeks now. There was a week period where I went to Thailand on honeymoon where the diet went out the window, but progress has been pretty awesome so far.

My original plan was to compete at welterweight (Just under 75kgs/about 165lbs) but in the last 2 weeks, despite my calories being lowered and my cardio bumped up slightly, my weight has gone up by about 2kgs/4.5lbs…

Judging from the pictures, and considering the comp is on the 15th of June, can some of you guys give some input as to whether I should be still aiming to come in at under 75kgs, or shoot for the above 75kgs weight class?

I would really appreciate some input from you guys… Hopefully some seasoned competitors like Stu can chime in too!

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Some more pics:

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Front relaxed

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[quote]MattWeitz wrote:
Hey guys,

I live in South Africa, and am about 7 weeks out from my first comp, IFBB Gauteng North Novices. I am working with John Meadows on my training and nutrition (and have been for the last 9-10 months or so) but have been specifically prepping for this comp for about 9 weeks now. There was a week period where I went to Thailand on honeymoon where the diet went out the window, but progress has been pretty awesome so far.

My original plan was to compete at welterweight (Just under 75kgs/about 165lbs) but in the last 2 weeks, despite my calories being lowered and my cardio bumped up slightly, my weight has gone up by about 2kgs/4.5lbs…

Judging from the pictures, and considering the comp is on the 15th of June, can some of you guys give some input as to whether I should be still aiming to come in at under 75kgs, or shoot for the above 75kgs weight class?

I would really appreciate some input from you guys… Hopefully some seasoned competitors like Stu can chime in too![/quote]

And by the way- I was 83.2kgs/183lbs this morning… That’s a somewhat important fact!

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Good luck dude, you look to be in great shape for 7 weeks out !

What is Meadows’ view on what weight class you will end up in?

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[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
Good luck dude, you look to be in great shape for 7 weeks out !

What is Meadows’ view on what weight class you will end up in? [/quote]

JM says it’s too early to tell what the end result will be weight-wise. My main concern is that if I do middleweight, I’ll be at the bottom end of the category, and probably be a little smaller than most of the other guys… That being said, with John in my corner I’m sure I’ll have close to the best conditioning there.

Thanks for the support, bro… It is very much appreciated.

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7 weeks is a lot of time. Size-wise, there are always issues and imbalances to work on, but that’s the nature of the sport and continually improving. For a novice division, I think you’ll be fine. Condition-wise, I’d say you’ll be good to go by June 15th no doubt. As you get progressively leaner, changes become much more dramatic and at a seemingly quicker pace.

The sun may be washing you out a bit in the pics you posted, but from the front shots, you look to be doing very well. I’d be curious to the side and rear shots, specifically how your hams are looking. That’s the key point that a lot of judges look at to really pick between who dieted hard, and who just has a nice genetic shape onstage.

Overall, you’re looking good. Quads are standouts, but everything else seems solid, and with better coloring, and posing (gotta pop those lats in the FDB shot, and flex those hams and glutes in the rear relaxed shot) I think you’ll be very proud of yourself.

Also, some of the best advice that gets repeated over and over, and with good reason, is to not worry about your weight. Just ensure that you do everything you can to look your best on game day. The only time weight really matters is if you’re going to be right on the cusp of two different classes. That was always my issue as I could be the biggest middleweight, or the smallest light-heavyweight depending on a pound or two. In your case, just keep shredding away as best as you can, and watch some online videos to really use your posing to highlight your strengths.

Good Luck!

S

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[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
7 weeks is a lot of time. Size-wise, there are always issues and imbalances to work on, but that’s the nature of the sport and continually improving. For a novice division, I think you’ll be fine. Condition-wise, I’d say you’ll be good to go by June 15th no doubt. As you get progressively leaner, changes become much more dramatic and at a seemingly quicker pace.

The sun may be washing you out a bit in the pics you posted, but from the front shots, you look to be doing very well. I’d be curious to the side and rear shots, specifically how your hams are looking. That’s the key point that a lot of judges look at to really pick between who dieted hard, and who just has a nice genetic shape onstage.

Overall, you’re looking good. Quads are standouts, but everything else seems solid, and with better coloring, and posing (gotta pop those lats in the FDB shot, and flex those hams and glutes in the rear relaxed shot) I think you’ll be very proud of yourself.

Also, some of the best advice that gets repeated over and over, and with good reason, is to not worry about your weight. Just ensure that you do everything you can to look your best on game day. The only time weight really matters is if you’re going to be right on the cusp of two different classes. That was always my issue as I could be the biggest middleweight, or the smallest light-heavyweight depending on a pound or two. In your case, just keep shredding away as best as you can, and watch some online videos to really use your posing to highlight your strengths.

Good Luck!

S[/quote]

Thanks Stu! Any advice on which videos to look at for posing tips?

I know that I’m looking pretty decent with 7 weeks to go… What really confused me was the fairly significant gain in weight that has happened over the last 2 weeks, when calories have been lowered and cardio increased. Just seemed really odd!

Stu- how often do you train abs precontest? At the moment I’m doing about 8 sets (via 2 exercises supersetted) 5 times per week, after cardio.

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Here is a back shot, btw

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Today was a good day, generally. First day in about a week and a half that I haven’t been feeling totally flat and low on energy… Thinking about it, it seems like I might’ve been carrying a bit of a viral infection for the last couple of weeks, and just mistook it for being tired.

Started off with 45 minutes fasted cardio, trained legs in the early evening (punishing Mountain Dog session) and I’m just about to hit a further 15 minutes of cardio + some abs before I go to sleep.

Tomorrow I got my posing practise. It’s also arms, abs and calves early tomorrow morning. Looking forward to it.

My next update with JM is on Saturday. Keen to see if he’ll want to make any changes.

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Tremendous bicep development!

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[quote]NorCal916 wrote:
Tremendous bicep development! [/quote]
Wow! Thanks man. I always get compliments on my legs, but I’ve been working really hard to bring my upper body to a decent level.

JM’s arm training is so different to what I’ve done before… So even though we’ve been working on leaning out for the last 10 months or so, I think I have seen some decent development in my upper body.

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Ok, so I just finished my 45 minutes of morning cardio…

Last night was Mountain Dog legs training, and even though this was steady state cardio, it was not fun after the session JM had me do last night!!

I know these cardio machines are not accurate AT ALL as to caloric expenditure, but at least it’s consistent if you use the same machine; so here is a screen shot of my bike from this morning. Going to try and beat this total on Sunday morning for my next scheduled cardio session.

Later today I will be doing arms + abs and calves, and tomorrow will be the 2nd chest & shoulder session for the week.

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: / makes me mega jealous reading contest threads of you and others with great coaches lol

oh the woes of being a poor student

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Just came back from my later-than-usual training session. Trained arms, calves and abs. Felt really good this evening… I’d say it was probably the toughest arm session I’ve ever had!

JM has a way of doing arms that makes you feel as hammered as a heavy leg day! And your calves inevitably feel like you’ve had someone inject them with hydrochloric acid.

Had my post-workout meal (260g white basmati rice + 220g sirloin steak), and am waiting about another 45 minutes before I hit the 15 minutes of pre bedtime cardio.

Tomorrow is my update with JM; will keep you posted on any changes etc.

I’ve been thinking about it, and I’m sure the unusual weight gain and slugishness I’ve been feeling is down the the greater amount of cruciferous veggies I’ve been eating. I increased my veggie intake substantially when my calories dropped, and that is the time frame when I started feeling bloated and heavy.

I will also make a note to ask JM about this tomorrow.

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Looking good man! You could post pics or posing vids every week for people to comment on posing, if you like

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[quote]zraw wrote:
Looking good man! You could post pics or posing vids every week for people to comment on posing, if you like[/quote]
I will do, absolutely! Pics will be coming tomorrow.

Thanks for the support, dude!

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[quote]zraw wrote:
Looking good man! You could post pics or posing vids every week for people to comment on posing, if you like[/quote]

And by the way- IMO you have one of the best-developed, and most aesthetic physiques on this forum, so any advice and input would be very much appreciated!

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Well anything related to training/diet John has covered thats for sure

I can already tell you, if he did not, that the darker you can get before getting your tan, the better it will be, in his opinion, and actually after doing it I agree with him

As far as posing is concerned as soon as pics are up ill check it out BUT i think you should also do a vid to see how it all flows together. Taking good pictures is easier than posing nicely by yourself as you can take as much time as you like and as many pics as you like etc

Try taking your pics with good lighting but maybe something with a bit less “sun” cause the light makes it hard to see if some of the things are tight (im thinking mainly hams from both rear pics here)

Also, thanks for your kind words :slight_smile:

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[quote]zraw wrote:
As far as posing is concerned as soon as pics are up ill check it out BUT i think you should also do a vid to see how it all flows together. Taking good pictures is easier than posing nicely by yourself as you can take as much time as you like and as many pics as you like etc
[/quote]

Just to add my two cents. Practice transitions. These can be just as important if not more important than the static pose you ultimately hit. The way you move into a pose can be the difference of a judge feeling like you actually know what you’re doing on stage. Knowing how to best display muscle in motion is a big part winning their favor.