Builder's Competition Quest

Training
121

Sorry I haven’t popped in here in a bit,… one thing that was a real issue for me, was flexing my hamstrings in rear poses, especially the rear relaxed pose. What helps a lot, is to plant your feet, contract your glutes first, and then simply shifting your weight will allow for an easier hamstring contraction.

I used to practice my rear relaxed (just with my lower body) while waiting for elevators all the time. Damn tiring flexing your ass and hams for long periods!

Overall, lotta progress being made. Good stuff!

S

122

[quote]Builder wrote:

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:
good work man

ill leave the posing comments to the more experienced bbers from here on in

i will say that you gotta keep fighting for better conditioning–probably need to be sub 170 to be very ripped on stage[/quote]

woke @ 173.2 this morning. tracking my macros more closely has made all the difference in my weight. Hopefully this on top of the cardio I have started in the morning and after each session will make the difference. Only 5 weeks until the show so no time for error at this point. Always appreciate your input brother.[/quote]

What type of cardio are you doing?

123

[quote]super saiyan wrote:

[quote]Builder wrote:

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:
good work man

ill leave the posing comments to the more experienced bbers from here on in

i will say that you gotta keep fighting for better conditioning–probably need to be sub 170 to be very ripped on stage[/quote]

woke @ 173.2 this morning. tracking my macros more closely has made all the difference in my weight. Hopefully this on top of the cardio I have started in the morning and after each session will make the difference. Only 5 weeks until the show so no time for error at this point. Always appreciate your input brother.[/quote]

What type of cardio are you doing?[/quote]

I have been doing heavy bag work primarily along with skipping and jumping jacks at the end of my weight training sessions as of late (No more snow for X country skiing). I set up kind of a mini circuit for myself and just tack on 20-30 min worth depending on how long my weight training session was. I usually throw in some abdominal exercises for “rest periods” as well. I have also been making an effort to get out in the mornings for walks when I’m not working for 30-45 min.

124

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Sorry I haven’t popped in here in a bit,… one thing that was a real issue for me, was flexing my hamstrings in rear poses, especially the rear relaxed pose. What helps a lot, is to plant your feet, contract your glutes first, and then simply shifting your weight will allow for an easier hamstring contraction.

I used to practice my rear relaxed (just with my lower body) while waiting for elevators all the time. Damn tiring flexing your ass and hams for long periods!

Overall, lotta progress being made. Good stuff!

S[/quote]

Thanks Stu, I have actually been having a lot of issues with flexing hams which has been a combination of both not having them and finding that flex point while standing. This is a great tip and I will be implementing this on my next round of posing tonight. This should be interesting as well because I just worked my legs and currently have a “heightened awareness” of that particular area.

125

[quote]Builder wrote:
currently have a “heightened awareness” of that particular area.
[/quote]

Definitely a good thing then. If you watch a lot of contest videos, you’ll undoubtedly see a few competitors reach back with one of their hands, and simply touch the hamstring of whatever leg they’re spiking in their rear poses. Such a simple technique, but it can make such a difference when you’re trying to remember every muscle to flex as well as a whole host of other concerns.

S

126

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
and simply touch the hamstring of whatever leg they’re spiking in their rear poses. Such a simple technique, but it can make such a difference when you’re trying to remember every muscle to flex as well as a whole host of other concerns.

[/quote]

I do this every time I practice posing. It really helps.

127

Thanks for the tips guys! If I actually reach back during the show will I be docked points?

128

Update:

My body weight has been fluctuating from the 172’s to 174’s in the mornings and night weight is usually 175-178. I have fallen into a rut of eating light in the day so I can have bigger meals when I get home at night after work, since that is when I get to train, so I figure the weight flux directly reflects that. I am currently starting my four days off of my work rotation and will be implementing a refeed to the best of my ability. Its going to be a pain cause it throws off tracking my morning weights probably during the only consistent time ill have for the next two weeks.

Since I have been in low carb mode for quite a while even while lightly cycling my carbs around training days my body has screamed refeed, so today, 4 weeks and a day out from the show, I have decided to go all out with an actual refeed. I am happy with where I am so far conditioning wise and hopefully I can’t get fat in one day cause so far I have been packing it in. I am not the most educated with carb cycling and refeeds so aside from getting my macros down as of late I will be using this to gauge my carb load for the show. I will be sticking to the rough “guidelines” of very low fat and 1/2 a gram per lb of body weight of protein, but other then that it seems to be a free for all. I will be leaving the window open for 6 hours and then will resume regular scheduled meals as if nothing happened afterwards. Even if this is a flop I have not acquired enough data on myself to be confident in loading up for the show. A part of deciding to do this by myself has been to make mistakes this year so I wont have to next. Ideally things will go perfectly, but in this bodybuilding world lots of things are very much hit or miss.

I have currently consumed approx. 400 grams of carbs @ just over the 3 hour mark and am reaching the point where I have not ventured outside of since I have started dieting. If any of you has input or insight or some tips on where I stand feel free to chime in, but chances are if you are reading this it is already too late, oatmeal, cereal, sweetpotato, some “junk foods”… its already in! hahaha if nothing else I will maintain my sanity! each time I reach the point where I start to feel bloated I back off a bit then resume once my body tells me its ready to go again.

I will report back on weather things go good or bad from this point in, but I cant type and stuff my face at the same time so I will be back…

129

[quote]Builder wrote:
4 weeks and a day out from the show, I have decided to go all out with an actual refeed. I am happy with where I am so far conditioning wise and hopefully I can’t get fat in one day cause so far I have been packing it in.
[/quote]

Good timing, make sure to try and learn from it, i.e. notice what the scale does and what your body does.

My last refeed was 3 weeks out and it was AWESOME. Enjoy it!

130

[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:

[quote]Builder wrote:
4 weeks and a day out from the show, I have decided to go all out with an actual refeed. I am happy with where I am so far conditioning wise and hopefully I can’t get fat in one day cause so far I have been packing it in.
[/quote]

Good timing, make sure to try and learn from it, i.e. notice what the scale does and what your body does.

My last refeed was 3 weeks out and it was AWESOME. Enjoy it![/quote]

I actually refed all the way up until the show. I kind of panicked at about 8 weeks out and stopped doing them and noticed I actually got better results if I had them in, so I put them back in and the fat loss was noticeably better.

Not saying it will work on YOU necessarily, but its certainly an option to consider and not something to be afraid of. Dont tweak a working plan TOO much, but this might be a winning strategy for you.

131

@ timmcbride00: This will be no doubt one of my most valuable learning experiences as the show draws near. I dont know how I got it all in there but it happened haha

@ Lonnie123: I have honestly been terrified of refeeds and have never gone this far before so with 4 weeks out I will have to see what happens in the next few days.

Question: I am not sure and can not seem to find the info I am looking for in searching the web, but when implementing a refeed like this to gauge my bodies reaction, is it wise to drink lots of water, just enough water, or very little water?

132

[quote]Builder wrote:
Thanks for the tips guys! If I actually reach back during the show will I be docked points? [/quote]

Not at all, it’s a common thing competitors do when ‘setting up’ a pose.

[quote]
Question: I am not sure and can not seem to find the info I am looking for in searching the web, but when implementing a refeed like this to gauge my bodies reaction, is it wise to drink lots of water, just enough water, or very little water? [/quote]

I’d keep your water intake at your typical level. No need to go above, or below what you’re used to. Sure if you take in larger amounts of water with a higher carb intake, you’ll puff up a bit more, but IMO the real purpose of a refeed is to address possible falling hormone levels, so any temporary physical changes in the mirror are just of secondary concern if at all.

S

133

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]Builder wrote:
Thanks for the tips guys! If I actually reach back during the show will I be docked points? [/quote]

Not at all, it’s a common thing competitors do when ‘setting up’ a pose.

[quote]
Question: I am not sure and can not seem to find the info I am looking for in searching the web, but when implementing a refeed like this to gauge my bodies reaction, is it wise to drink lots of water, just enough water, or very little water? [/quote]

I’d keep your water intake at your typical level. No need to go above, or below what you’re used to. Sure if you take in larger amounts of water with a higher carb intake, you’ll puff up a bit more, but IMO the real purpose of a refeed is to address possible falling hormone levels, so any temporary physical changes in the mirror are just of secondary concern if at all.

S[/quote]

I will most likely be reaching back on stage, I also catch myself looking down at my legs a lot when setting up for poses too. My hams are always hit or miss in my side tri/side chest, though I am finding the lower I go the better they seem to look.

I am going to remain on my normal water intake, I was finding it hard to get any water down with all the carbs I was putting away haha. I will increase slowly as I revert back to the regular diet until I am back to normal.

Thanks again for the feedback, I would be a mess otherwise!

134

[quote]Builder wrote:
@ timmcbride00: This will be no doubt one of my most valuable learning experiences as the show draws near. I dont know how I got it all in there but it happened haha

@ Lonnie123: I have honestly been terrified of refeeds and have never gone this far before so with 4 weeks out I will have to see what happens in the next few days.

Question: I am not sure and can not seem to find the info I am looking for in searching the web, but when implementing a refeed like this to gauge my bodies reaction, is it wise to drink lots of water, just enough water, or very little water?[/quote]

Again, I’m not advocating you start making drastic changes this close to the show… But knowing what I did might give you an idea for your own usage. I would go to Denny’s and order the “Build your own grand slam” thing and get the following:

  • A waffle with syrup
  • A bowl of oatmeal with syrup and brown sugar
  • An order of egg whites
  • An order of hash brown
  • Finish up the meal with an Apple Crisp

Towards the end of the prep I sometimes even snuck in some stuff after.

I would ALWAYS follow up this day with a Pulse Fast (if you are not familiar its basically a day of fasting with 5-6 protein shakes ONLY throughout the day)

As far as water, I always drank a lot. I figured the carbs would soak it up into the muscles, maybe creating a “hyperhydration” state and that MIGHT lead to some kind of gain… This is basically BroScince, PhD stuff… But what the hell.

Over the coarse of a few days any effect on your appearance the water intake has would be completely negated by going back on your regular diet. Do NOT judge your results by the day after the refeed, as the effects sometimes wont be noticeable till 3-4 days later since you will be so loaded with glycogen/carbs/water that your appearance will be dramatically altered in some cases.

135

You look great! Your doing awesome :slight_smile:

136

@ Lonnie123: Appreciate the info, always helpful to see/know what others are doing for prep.

@ Coyotegal: Thank you! That means a lot

Update:

So… not the best experience with the refeed. I felt fine up until the evening when things started to “process.” It started with a bit of bloat followed by some gas which got progressively worse throughout the evening and resulted in me not sleeping and requiring a direct path to the bathroom. When all was said and done and things had subsided I weighed less then when I started the refeed.

I consumed approx. 750g of carbs within my six hour window with approx. 50g of fat and 170g of protein (I consumed most of my protein for the day after my six hour window in the evening). I started the day with steel cut oats then moved on to cereal, then transitioned to more refined junk foods, then back to sweet potatoes for my last high carb meals. It was more like a grazing session rather then meals, I just kinda ate more when there was room and at the start I didn’t think I could fill up.

When I went to bed I started to get chilled and to the point where I was freezing under the covers when usually I cant even sleep under the covers. This got worse and I ended up cranking the heat and clearing a path to the bathroom. Once I was cleared out so to speak my body temp raised back up and I broke a sweat almost feeling feverish. Once the bloat and gas and other symptoms subsided I felt warm and managed to get a few hours of sleep.

When I woke up I felt fine, I was a little warmer then usual but I looked good and didn’t feel bad at all. I managed to get half an hour of circuit style cardio in and plan to train later in the day.

At this point in time I dont know if this was a failed attempt, something to expect with a first true refeed… or maybe I just dont handle carbs well. I am not sure if I will reap the benefits of this refeed with restoring hormone levels and jump starting my metabolism so I will have to pay close attention to what my body does the next few days. I feel great now, but I definitely dont want to go through something like this the night before the show… even though I looked good this morning haha. I will most likely try this again in one week in more of moderation to see where I land, It could have been completely coincidental and I got a stomach bug or something the way my body temp was fluctuating…

137

[quote]Builder wrote:
@ Lonnie123: Appreciate the info, always helpful to see/know what others are doing for prep.

@ Coyotegal: Thank you! That means a lot

Update:

So… not the best experience with the refeed. I felt fine up until the evening when things started to “process.” It started with a bit of bloat followed by some gas which got progressively worse throughout the evening and resulted in me not sleeping and requiring a direct path to the bathroom. When all was said and done and things had subsided I weighed less then when I started the refeed.

I consumed approx. 750g of carbs within my six hour window with approx. 50g of fat and 170g of protein (I consumed most of my protein for the day after my six hour window in the evening). I started the day with steel cut oats then moved on to cereal, then transitioned to more refined junk foods, then back to sweet potatoes for my last high carb meals. It was more like a grazing session rather then meals, I just kinda ate more when there was room and at the start I didn’t think I could fill up.

When I went to bed I started to get chilled and to the point where I was freezing under the covers when usually I cant even sleep under the covers. This got worse and I ended up cranking the heat and clearing a path to the bathroom. Once I was cleared out so to speak my body temp raised back up and I broke a sweat almost feeling feverish. Once the bloat and gas and other symptoms subsided I felt warm and managed to get a few hours of sleep.

When I woke up I felt fine, I was a little warmer then usual but I looked good and didn’t feel bad at all. I managed to get half an hour of circuit style cardio in and plan to train later in the day.

At this point in time I dont know if this was a failed attempt, something to expect with a first true refeed… or maybe I just dont handle carbs well. I am not sure if I will reap the benefits of this refeed with restoring hormone levels and jump starting my metabolism so I will have to pay close attention to what my body does the next few days. I feel great now, but I definitely dont want to go through something like this the night before the show… even though I looked good this morning haha. I will most likely try this again in one week in more of moderation to see where I land, It could have been completely coincidental and I got a stomach bug or something the way my body temp was fluctuating… [/quote]

Im no expert on refeeds but sounds to me like you over did it…750 g of carbs in6 hours sounds insane to me

anyways keep us posted—i’ll be curious to see if after whatever fluctuations occur- if your weight drops downer lower and your conditioning improves—

keep grinding away man—4 weeks out today is it not?

im still deciding if i want to go the NSABBA or the atlantics

138

Thats too bad. I know a lot of people get gassy or bloated with refeeds, but I’ve not heard too many reports of an episode like yours.

What all did you eat? Stuff you were used to before the diet, or was it new stuff? Sometimes a large volume of food is the issue if you are dieting.

Also, I think the body gets used to certain things and can process them more. Again, this is bro science to the max, but I notice that as I ate the same thing for my refeeds the response to it seem to get better and I got less and less gassy/bloated as the weeks went by. Like my body knew what was coming so it just handled it.

139

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:

[quote]Builder wrote:
@ Lonnie123: Appreciate the info, always helpful to see/know what others are doing for prep.

@ Coyotegal: Thank you! That means a lot

Update:

So… not the best experience with the refeed. I felt fine up until the evening when things started to “process.” It started with a bit of bloat followed by some gas which got progressively worse throughout the evening and resulted in me not sleeping and requiring a direct path to the bathroom. When all was said and done and things had subsided I weighed less then when I started the refeed.

I consumed approx. 750g of carbs within my six hour window with approx. 50g of fat and 170g of protein (I consumed most of my protein for the day after my six hour window in the evening). I started the day with steel cut oats then moved on to cereal, then transitioned to more refined junk foods, then back to sweet potatoes for my last high carb meals. It was more like a grazing session rather then meals, I just kinda ate more when there was room and at the start I didn’t think I could fill up.

When I went to bed I started to get chilled and to the point where I was freezing under the covers when usually I cant even sleep under the covers. This got worse and I ended up cranking the heat and clearing a path to the bathroom. Once I was cleared out so to speak my body temp raised back up and I broke a sweat almost feeling feverish. Once the bloat and gas and other symptoms subsided I felt warm and managed to get a few hours of sleep.

When I woke up I felt fine, I was a little warmer then usual but I looked good and didn’t feel bad at all. I managed to get half an hour of circuit style cardio in and plan to train later in the day.

At this point in time I dont know if this was a failed attempt, something to expect with a first true refeed… or maybe I just dont handle carbs well. I am not sure if I will reap the benefits of this refeed with restoring hormone levels and jump starting my metabolism so I will have to pay close attention to what my body does the next few days. I feel great now, but I definitely dont want to go through something like this the night before the show… even though I looked good this morning haha. I will most likely try this again in one week in more of moderation to see where I land, It could have been completely coincidental and I got a stomach bug or something the way my body temp was fluctuating… [/quote]

Im no expert on refeeds but sounds to me like you over did it…750 g of carbs in6 hours sounds insane to me

anyways keep us posted—i’ll be curious to see if after whatever fluctuations occur- if your weight drops downer lower and your conditioning improves—

keep grinding away man—4 weeks out today is it not?

im still deciding if i want to go the NSABBA or the atlantics
[/quote]

Yeah its 4 weeks out now! The evening show is already sold out, but lots left for pre-judging.

140

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
Thats too bad. I know a lot of people get gassy or bloated with refeeds, but I’ve not heard too many reports of an episode like yours.

What all did you eat? Stuff you were used to before the diet, or was it new stuff? Sometimes a large volume of food is the issue if you are dieting.

Also, I think the body gets used to certain things and can process them more. Again, this is bro science to the max, but I notice that as I ate the same thing for my refeeds the response to it seem to get better and I got less and less gassy/bloated as the weeks went by. Like my body knew what was coming so it just handled it. [/quote]

I definitely pounded back some stuff that I am not usually used to eating… I was never big on sweets, but wanted to cover that area of sugar intake so I went for it. That could have easily been my downfall. I usually stick under 300g on highest carb days so this was a first even since before dieting so no doubt my body was not ready to handle the overload. Oh well I would rather know now then the day before the show. I may try my luck with a more moderate refeed in a weeks time. I still dont have clear data on how my body will respond other then getting very sick.