Builder's Competition Quest

Training
181

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
Tough call on adding another refeed. I know about the potential for increasing the freq of the refeeds, but I don’t know too many coaches who actually do it.

In reality, adding in another small refeed will most likely not have a large impact on your physique either way at this point. If it “doesnt work”, You won’t get fat adding in 200g of carbs one day… Nor will you get a whole lot leaner from the potential metabolism boost. It’s probably more of a psychological boost than a metabolism boost

Given how well the once a week method is working I’m inclined to say just stick with it and Save the experimentation for the next diet.

Or… You could mess around with it after the show. I don’t recommend drastically increasing cals after the show, especially if you are going to drop a bunch of cardio. This might be a good time to keep the cals a bit lower but add in a second mini refeed to see what it does. [/quote]

You know I think all I needed was to hear that I should just tough it out. I am still progressing so no point in chancing it. 11 days left its not worth venturing away from the game plan just to sooth a little craving. Thanks! I will most likely attempt to try my experimenting afterwards as you suggested. I think that is a great idea and valuable info to gain for next year!

182

[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:
First of all, congratulations on the pregnancy!

I am a father of two boys, there is no joy like being a dad.

Now on to the less important stuff…

Glad refeeds are working for you and you are learning how your body responds.

You look great and it is awesome that you are so motivated.[/quote]

Thank you, I am finding it hard to place my excitement directly towards the show now. We are still early on but I am stoked!

I think maybe my stubbornness may be a large attribute to my motivation, and even living in the moment as you can see my last few posts have been based on body vs mind. I am usually siding with my mind because as I am sure my body is aware getting this lean is not natural by any stretch, though my body can be very persuasive with telling me that just a few carbs wont hurt me haha.

I am glad that this prep has worked so well and given it has been a great learning experience I can dial it in even more next year, may even come close to where you compete at someday :wink:

183

Congratulations on the bun in the oven! As a father of three poo flinging monkeys (ie boys), it is a wonderful ride.

–Me

184

[quote]Builder wrote:

You know I think all I needed was to hear that I should just tough it out. I am still progressing so no point in chancing it. 11 days left its not worth venturing away from the game plan just to sooth a little craving. Thanks! I will most likely attempt to try my experimenting afterwards as you suggested. I think that is a great idea and valuable info to gain for next year!
[/quote]

It might be worthwhile to know that a few of the people I was competing with and I all experienced the same thing, and that was when we were coming into the final week and all the prep was done… We all kinda had a “Jesus, can this just be over yet? Why am I even doing this?” kind of feeling.

I say this not to discourage you, but just to let you know you might get those kinds of thoughts. We all loved doing the show and are glad we did it, but there is something about doing SO much stuff just to look good in a speedo one day that can mess your head I guess.

Stick with the plan, and stick it out brother, you’re going to do great.

185

[quote]kravi wrote:
Congratulations on the bun in the oven! As a father of three poo flinging monkeys (ie boys), it is a wonderful ride.

–Me[/quote]

Thank you, I am looking forward to it!

186

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

[quote]Builder wrote:

You know I think all I needed was to hear that I should just tough it out. I am still progressing so no point in chancing it. 11 days left its not worth venturing away from the game plan just to sooth a little craving. Thanks! I will most likely attempt to try my experimenting afterwards as you suggested. I think that is a great idea and valuable info to gain for next year!
[/quote]

It might be worthwhile to know that a few of the people I was competing with and I all experienced the same thing, and that was when we were coming into the final week and all the prep was done… We all kinda had a “Jesus, can this just be over yet? Why am I even doing this?” kind of feeling.

I say this not to discourage you, but just to let you know you might get those kinds of thoughts. We all loved doing the show and are glad we did it, but there is something about doing SO much stuff just to look good in a speedo one day that can mess your head I guess.

Stick with the plan, and stick it out brother, you’re going to do great.[/quote]

I can admit that I am at the point where I am starting to look past the show, but I still would love to do well and remain pumped to duke it out on stage. I am holding it together enough and being stubborn definitely gets me through some of the tough times.
Just hearing confirmation outside of my own bubble is great to have at this point as well, maybe more so. Just being able to hear someone else say what I know is the right thing to do makes all the difference. Game plan…Game plan…Game plan, this may be the difference between placing and not!

Thank you muchly for the continued support. Had no idea that this can mess so much with your head haha

187

Update:

169.6! lowest weight yet. In the morning I am finding that I am super lean and can actually see it fade as I drink water/eat throughout the day. I am blown away that I could ever be this lean haha.

I will be updating quite often as more changes are occurring on a more frequent basis being so close to the show.

Other then my appetite I am doing okay in terms of mood and sleep. As I mentioned before I am actually sleeping more now, part of this may because I know if I sleep I wont be thinking about food. I have been waking up through the night about 2-3 times for washroom and because my mouth is so dry.

I am not doing a big sodium manipulation because I know very little about it, but I have been adding a bit of salt here and there and will alter my intake moderately for my final prep. This way It will not be a drastic change one way or another, so if it helps a bit great, if not then I wont be that far behind. It will basically be the difference in the chicken I am eating. I have some boxed stuff that has higher sodium then the fresh packaged stuff so I will just be rotating from one to the other this week and next.

Going for one more deep tissue massage before the show. I have been tightening up a lot with all the added work for cardio and even the walking has been taking a tole on my back, which I had problems with to begin with.

188

Looking great.

I remember the last week and being excited to plan my lean mass phase, but still being excited for the show at the same time. It was a good time.

Enjoy it, document it so you remember it later.

189

[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:
Looking great.

I remember the last week and being excited to plan my lean mass phase, but still being excited for the show at the same time. It was a good time.

Enjoy it, document it so you remember it later.[/quote]

haha yes I am excited for after the show, however if I make top 5 I will qualify for nationals that are being held here 3 months after this show. I will be able to regain my sanity though and take it easy for a few weeks, and I will be ahead of the game as far as conditioning is concerned if I qualify.

190

damn man looking sliced— i think you have a great chance of qualifying for nationals—also keep in mind that if you dont want to do the july 6th nationals–there is always drug tested nationals which would be in about a year from now. Im hoping to eventually qualify for that show, or maybe do a INBF show.

191

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:
damn man looking sliced— i think you have a great chance of qualifying for nationals—also keep in mind that if you dont want to do the july 6th nationals–there is always drug tested nationals which would be in about a year from now. Im hoping to eventually qualify for that show, or maybe do a INBF show.[/quote]

I will have to look into some options for other shows. There is not much in terms of natty shows around these parts, though I dont mind competing with the chemically enhanced. I will have to get some info from you regarding some of the other organizations later on. I am not really familiar with anything beyond the NSABBA, and initially I thought that was a tested show haha.

192

[quote]Builder wrote:

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:
damn man looking sliced— i think you have a great chance of qualifying for nationals—also keep in mind that if you dont want to do the july 6th nationals–there is always drug tested nationals which would be in about a year from now. Im hoping to eventually qualify for that show, or maybe do a INBF show.[/quote]

I will have to look into some options for other shows. There is not much in terms of natty shows around these parts, though I dont mind competing with the chemically enhanced. I will have to get some info from you regarding some of the other organizations later on. I am not really familiar with anything beyond the NSABBA, and initially I thought that was a tested show haha.[/quote]
if you google natural bodybuilding events canada , you’ll see a lot of what our country has to offer

there is actually going to be a tested show with the IFDA in moncton this september…

i remember sayingthe same thing about competing against the chem enhanced as a natural, but after the show i didnt really feel that way anymore haha. you can probably hang with them a lot better than me though

haha i think its kind of funny you thought the NSABBA was going to be tested :stuck_out_tongue:

193


Update:

Well ladies and gentlemen!! I seem to have caught my second wind today with beating these cravings and only have to get through tomorrow before hitting my last refeed. I took advantage of today’s appetite and will be dropping my calories a bit more. Tomorrow I will have to tough it out either way and since I am back to work for my last 4 day rotation before the show, I will be having to crunch time a bit to get my training in. I am hoping between a greater calorie deficit I will stay on par with where I am now, or even a little ahead.

Morning weight of 169 lbs even! This was kind of my unofficial goal in terms of weight over the past while. I still would like to dial in the conditioning a bit more, though I don’t think I will change drastically with this much time before the show.

Question:
For any of you experienced guys out there!! Should my last refeed be geared to alter my metabolism and restore hormone levels, or rather should it be more conservative so depletion will be easier through the week leading up to the show? Should I be aiming for spill over or just a boost to get me through, or is someone going to burst my bubble completely and tell me to skip it? hahah either way all insight and info, as usual, is greatly appreciated!

194

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:

[quote]Builder wrote:

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:
damn man looking sliced— i think you have a great chance of qualifying for nationals—also keep in mind that if you dont want to do the july 6th nationals–there is always drug tested nationals which would be in about a year from now. Im hoping to eventually qualify for that show, or maybe do a INBF show.[/quote]

I will have to look into some options for other shows. There is not much in terms of natty shows around these parts, though I dont mind competing with the chemically enhanced. I will have to get some info from you regarding some of the other organizations later on. I am not really familiar with anything beyond the NSABBA, and initially I thought that was a tested show haha.[/quote]
if you google natural bodybuilding events canada , you’ll see a lot of what our country has to offer

there is actually going to be a tested show with the IFDA in moncton this september…

i remember sayingthe same thing about competing against the chem enhanced as a natural, but after the show i didnt really feel that way anymore haha. you can probably hang with them a lot better than me though

haha i think its kind of funny you thought the NSABBA was going to be tested :P[/quote]

I am so naive hahah. The biggest reason for considering the july 6th show is that if I am top 5 I only have 3 months to “hold” or reestablish my conditioning. Also if I place behind 4 other guys who are chemically enhanced in the provincial show chances are that they will lose a bit coming off since nationals are tested and I will remain virtually the same. That is my thought anyways, I could be completely wrong, I am not quite sure how all that works.

195

[quote]Builder wrote:

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:

[quote]Builder wrote:

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:
damn man looking sliced— i think you have a great chance of qualifying for nationals—also keep in mind that if you dont want to do the july 6th nationals–there is always drug tested nationals which would be in about a year from now. Im hoping to eventually qualify for that show, or maybe do a INBF show.[/quote]

I will have to look into some options for other shows. There is not much in terms of natty shows around these parts, though I dont mind competing with the chemically enhanced. I will have to get some info from you regarding some of the other organizations later on. I am not really familiar with anything beyond the NSABBA, and initially I thought that was a tested show haha.[/quote]
if you google natural bodybuilding events canada , you’ll see a lot of what our country has to offer

there is actually going to be a tested show with the IFDA in moncton this september…

i remember sayingthe same thing about competing against the chem enhanced as a natural, but after the show i didnt really feel that way anymore haha. you can probably hang with them a lot better than me though

haha i think its kind of funny you thought the NSABBA was going to be tested :P[/quote]

I am so naive hahah. The biggest reason for considering the july 6th show is that if I am top 5 I only have 3 months to “hold” or reestablish my conditioning. Also if I place behind 4 other guys who are chemically enhanced in the provincial show chances are that they will lose a bit coming off since nationals are tested and I will remain virtually the same. That is my thought anyways, I could be completely wrong, I am not quite sure how all that works.
[/quote]

i dont think the july 6th nationals will be tested

come on man, thats how antoine and greg doucette won their procards last year. also its why they have the tested nationals in april.

so the guys that qualify for nationals will likely stay on the whole run up to nationals i would imagine

196

I looked back through my log to see if I did my refeed the week before the show… And of course it isnt there. I’m almost certain I did though.

If you do the one I did Its basically just another refeed so it keeps you “on schedule”. If you do the multi-day style you might want to do a more moderate refeed because you aren’t going to wait a week until you have another one (only 3-4 days)

Also, if you follow the typical plan for glycogen supercomensation that most do leading into a show, you will be training with crazy high reps the first half of the week… So any carbs you ingest on Friday should be burned off completely by the time you do you carb up.

Based on your current reaction to carb ups which seems to be quite good, I say keep it in.

197

Awesome physique! Getting leaner by each new set of pics aswell it seems. Would you mind sharing abit of your training philosophy?:wink:

Anyways, best of luck with your show:) I am sure your hard work will pay off!

198

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:

[quote]Builder wrote:

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:

[quote]Builder wrote:

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:
damn man looking sliced— i think you have a great chance of qualifying for nationals—also keep in mind that if you dont want to do the july 6th nationals–there is always drug tested nationals which would be in about a year from now. Im hoping to eventually qualify for that show, or maybe do a INBF show.[/quote]

I will have to look into some options for other shows. There is not much in terms of natty shows around these parts, though I dont mind competing with the chemically enhanced. I will have to get some info from you regarding some of the other organizations later on. I am not really familiar with anything beyond the NSABBA, and initially I thought that was a tested show haha.[/quote]
if you google natural bodybuilding events canada , you’ll see a lot of what our country has to offer

there is actually going to be a tested show with the IFDA in moncton this september…

i remember sayingthe same thing about competing against the chem enhanced as a natural, but after the show i didnt really feel that way anymore haha. you can probably hang with them a lot better than me though

haha i think its kind of funny you thought the NSABBA was going to be tested :P[/quote]

I am so naive hahah. The biggest reason for considering the july 6th show is that if I am top 5 I only have 3 months to “hold” or reestablish my conditioning. Also if I place behind 4 other guys who are chemically enhanced in the provincial show chances are that they will lose a bit coming off since nationals are tested and I will remain virtually the same. That is my thought anyways, I could be completely wrong, I am not quite sure how all that works.
[/quote]

i dont think the july 6th nationals will be tested

come on man, thats how antoine and greg doucette won their procards last year. also its why they have the tested nationals in april.

so the guys that qualify for nationals will likely stay on the whole run up to nationals i would imagine
[/quote]

I told you I was naive haha. I am just going by what they said during the NSABBA seminar, they made a point in mentioning is was tested. I will definitely look into some of the other organizations as you suggested. I believe that this will be my best bet if I want to do well as a natty.

199

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
I looked back through my log to see if I did my refeed the week before the show… And of course it isnt there. I’m almost certain I did though.

If you do the one I did Its basically just another refeed so it keeps you “on schedule”. If you do the multi-day style you might want to do a more moderate refeed because you aren’t going to wait a week until you have another one (only 3-4 days)

Also, if you follow the typical plan for glycogen supercomensation that most do leading into a show, you will be training with crazy high reps the first half of the week… So any carbs you ingest on Friday should be burned off completely by the time you do you carb up.

Based on your current reaction to carb ups which seems to be quite good, I say keep it in. [/quote]

I will most likely stick to a standard refeed (standard for me anyways haha). Since these past few weeks I have made the most progress post refeed I just may be able to dial it in a bit more before the show. I seem to be hitting my lowest weight 5-6 days post refeed. This will be perfect because I will baseline in weight a day or two before my pre show carb up. Making weight is not a concern at this point so I will do my best not to treat my pre show carb up as a binge. Once those carbs start going in its hard to slow down or stop. Spacing my meals is going to be the biggest challenge before the show. I read that some people take a few moderate carb days to carb load before the show as apposed to the one day before. I plan to keep it as simple as I can and will most likely leave it to the one day before the show/morning of.

200

[quote]whatever2k wrote:
Awesome physique! Getting leaner by each new set of pics aswell it seems. Would you mind sharing abit of your training philosophy?:wink:

Anyways, best of luck with your show:) I am sure your hard work will pay off![/quote]

Thanks for the support!

As far as training philosophy goes I pretty much make the most of what I have to work with. I like to be creative and have the freedom to just try new things, even if they seem unorthodox at the time. I do not have a lot in terms of equipment so volume training usually gives me the best results for exercises that I would normally require more weight for like legs. I like to change it up often and generally find that change keeps things fresh, as routine as training can be in every sense of the word, if you don’t mix it up it is easy to lose focus and plateau. My attitude has definitely changed since dieting down for this show as well. I will not be so weight oriented in the future (having to see a certain number on the scale) but rather stay leaner and track my progress more accurately.

If there is anything more specific you want to know feel free to ask.