Competition Ready in 32 Weeks?

Bigger Stronger Leaner
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I’ve been thinking about competing in bodybuilding and/or physique (I think my legs say bodybuilding) so I was looking around for competitions that would be fairly close to me. I found two NANBF competitions that are pretty close to me in May 2016, the Natural Iowa in Des Moines May 14 and the Heartland Classic in Omaha May 21.

That gives me about 32 weeks from now until the shows. I’m looking for some opinions on a few things. First off, do you think it’s possible for me to get to the point that I’d be competitive? I’m assuming the Des Moines show will be a lot smaller than the Omaha one so that might be a good entry point (first time competing) for me to get my feet wet. At the same time, I’d like to shoot for being a big presence in Omaha if possible.

I’ve got some pictures attached here to give you an idea of where I’m at. All these are cold, just after waking up. Sorry for the terrible lighting and distance from the camera. If you want to see anything else, let me know and I can snap a (better) picture or two to give you a better idea. My thoughts: I think my chest is small to non-existent so I need to work on that. Really my entire upper body is lacking compared to my legs I think so that’s going to be a big focus. Thoughts?

Where I’m at: I’m a 20-year-old college student, which gives me some advantages. My recovery ability is probably better than it ever will be now so I’m always going into the gym fresh and ready to kill it, plus I’ve got the whole youthful hormone advantage. Hopefully this will help me make good progress in this upcoming almost 2/3 of a year.

Food and supplementation are totally under my control and mental fortitude is good so I expect I can progress well. I’ve been doing a slow recomp, eating about maintenance 2,500 calories per day. With my class schedule it’s been convenient to do small protein pulses throughout the day with whey, casein, or a blend, then have Plazma pre- and intra-workout and then the rest of my carbs (and calories) for the day in the next few hours post-workout. I’ve just started using Indigo so that should help out too. I’ve been leaning out and gaining strength on all my lifts so it’s going well. I’m just starting the last week of Christan Thibaudeau’s Athlete Lean, Athlete Strong and I was doing a Waterbury-inspired 10x3 before that. My weight hasn’t changed much since I started the recomp process. Right now I’m sitting at 200 pounds at 6 feet.

Secondly, assuming I can be competitive at the show, what do you think my best plan of attack is to get there? Recommended training methods/programs? How long would you block out (and this obviously may change depending on progress) for dieting down for the competition? I would imagine a coach would be exceptionally helpful. At what point would you look into hiring somebody?

My last question is about the NANBF. I’m not really familiar with any of the organizations. How reputable and how ‘clean’ is the NANBF? Is it a good organization to go with or would you recommend others?

Thanks a lot. Best,
David

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Oh, I also have legs.

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It’s nearly impossible to know how competitive you would be, as this is based on who else shows up to the competition, something out of your control. I would think you certainly wouldn’t embarrass yourself though. You’re at a very good starting point with that much time until your competition. Obviously that’s plenty of time to run your contest prep. You can spend the next couple months building as much muscle as possible without worrying much about fat gain, given how lean you are. I would think contest dieting wouldn’t take more than 20 weeks, although there are certainly guys who are more knowledgeable in that regard than me.

As far as muscularity goes, judging by these pictures I’d say your legs are your biggest issue. They don’t look big at all, although that particular picture could be somewhat misleading. After that I would say triceps, then delts, then maybe chest. It also looks like your upper back could use some work.

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[quote]flipcollar wrote:
It’s nearly impossible to know how competitive you would be, as this is based on who else shows up to the competition, something out of your control. I would think you certainly wouldn’t embarrass yourself though. You’re at a very good starting point with that much time until your competition. Obviously that’s plenty of time to run your contest prep. You can spend the next couple months building as much muscle as possible without worrying much about fat gain, given how lean you are. I would think contest dieting wouldn’t take more than 20 weeks, although there are certainly guys who are more knowledgeable in that regard than me.

As far as muscularity goes, judging by these pictures I’d say your legs are your biggest issue. They don’t look big at all, although that particular picture could be somewhat misleading. After that I would say triceps, then delts, then maybe chest. It also looks like your upper back could use some work.[/quote]

Funny, as I was thinking upper back was the most lagging part.

OP, you can always do it. It’s just a question of whether it’s the right time for you.

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Great shape for 20yo. Yeah could put in a good showing in that time frame. With all those supps i would get on a high volume program -check out Kingbeefs thread and try one of the heavier templates.
Another option is to just keep doing what your doing then once a fortnight nuke it with isolation work…

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[quote]DavidMas wrote:
I’ve been thinking about competing in bodybuilding and/or physique (I think my legs say bodybuilding) so I was looking around for competitions that would be fairly close to me. I found two NANBF competitions that are pretty close to me in May 2016, the Natural Iowa in Des Moines May 14 and the Heartland Classic in Omaha May 21.

That gives me about 32 weeks from now until the shows. I’m looking for some opinions on a few things. First off, do you think it’s possible for me to get to the point that I’d be competitive? I’m assuming the Des Moines show will be a lot smaller than the Omaha one so that might be a good entry point (first time competing) for me to get my feet wet. At the same time, I’d like to shoot for being a big presence in Omaha if possible.

I’ve got some pictures attached here to give you an idea of where I’m at. All these are cold, just after waking up. Sorry for the terrible lighting and distance from the camera. If you want to see anything else, let me know and I can snap a (better) picture or two to give you a better idea. My thoughts: I think my chest is small to non-existent so I need to work on that. Really my entire upper body is lacking compared to my legs I think so that’s going to be a big focus. Thoughts?

Where I’m at: I’m a 20-year-old college student, which gives me some advantages. My recovery ability is probably better than it ever will be now so I’m always going into the gym fresh and ready to kill it, plus I’ve got the whole youthful hormone advantage. Hopefully this will help me make good progress in this upcoming almost 2/3 of a year.

Food and supplementation are totally under my control and mental fortitude is good so I expect I can progress well. I’ve been doing a slow recomp, eating about maintenance 2,500 calories per day. With my class schedule it’s been convenient to do small protein pulses throughout the day with whey, casein, or a blend, then have Plazma pre- and intra-workout and then the rest of my carbs (and calories) for the day in the next few hours post-workout. I’ve just started using Indigo so that should help out too. I’ve been leaning out and gaining strength on all my lifts so it’s going well. I’m just starting the last week of Christan Thibaudeau’s Athlete Lean, Athlete Strong and I was doing a Waterbury-inspired 10x3 before that. My weight hasn’t changed much since I started the recomp process. Right now I’m sitting at 200 pounds at 6 feet.

Secondly, assuming I can be competitive at the show, what do you think my best plan of attack is to get there? Recommended training methods/programs? How long would you block out (and this obviously may change depending on progress) for dieting down for the competition? I would imagine a coach would be exceptionally helpful. At what point would you look into hiring somebody?

My last question is about the NANBF. I’m not really familiar with any of the organizations. How reputable and how ‘clean’ is the NANBF? Is it a good organization to go with or would you recommend others?

Thanks a lot. Best,
David[/quote]

200 pounds with this level of leanness.

I am jealous.

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Thanks a lot for the input, guys. I appreciate it.

RampantBadger - the “Do this routine instead of that dumb one” thread?

Gorillakiv - thanks, man! I remember seeing your transformation thread awhile back. Fantastic progress. That’s part of what got me to start a “cut”/recomp to get to this point.

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[quote]DavidMas wrote:
Thanks a lot for the input, guys. I appreciate it.

RampantBadger - the “Do this routine instead of that dumb one” thread?

[/quote]

Yep thats the one

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I think time wise you’re fine. Actually you probably have more than you need, which means you can do things slowly and without excessive suffering.

Size wise, legs might appear to lag, but if you dial them in and don’t lose much lbm in the process you make look much more impressive than some might think.

S

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[quote]DavidMas wrote:
Thanks a lot for the input, guys. I appreciate it.

RampantBadger - the “Do this routine instead of that dumb one” thread?

Gorillakiv - thanks, man! I remember seeing your transformation thread awhile back. Fantastic progress. That’s part of what got me to start a “cut”/recomp to get to this point.[/quote]

Thanks bro, i am very happy to hear it.

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Not to be a dick, but why don’t you wait a year, add some more mass and get a few things better balanced.

You’re not going to look any fuller while leaning down in the next 32 weeks… unless your goal is to grow into the show (which is something not every person has the genes for). As it stands, you look very good in your bathroom, but onstage you will disappear what with your present lack of depth.

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  1. Find someone in your area who is extremely knowledgeable on posing. Take classes as often as possible. Practice, practice, practice.

  2. You are in a great staring point. Much better than where I was at 23 weeks out.

  3. Enjoy the experience. It is a damn journey!

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[quote]CLUNK wrote:
Not to be a dick, but why don’t you wait a year, add some more mass and get a few things better balanced.

You’re not going to look any fuller while leaning down in the next 32 weeks… unless your goal is to grow into the show (which is something not every person has the genes for). As it stands, you look very good in your bathroom, but onstage you will disappear what with your present lack of depth.
[/quote]

I mean, 32 weeks is 7+ months away. It’s not a full year, but still. It’s not as if he’s gonna spend the next 32 weeks leaning down, given his starting point. He can absolutely put on mass for awhile before dieting down for the show. And for a natural competition, particularly if it’s a lower level one, I think he’ll be just fine.

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Any updates?

S

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[quote]RampantBadger wrote:
… -check out Kingbeefs thread…
[/quote]

Is he even still around these forums? Dude had great potential!

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Thanks for asking, Stu. I’m hovering around 210-212 right now (so up 10 pounds) and my waist and belly button measurements are the same so I think I’m headed the right direction. A couple people have told me I look thicker and wider than I did a few weeks ago. I’ve noticed my lats a lot more so I think I am widening out. I’ll try to get some pictures up tomorrow morning.

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From earlier today, 11 November.

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[quote]DavidMas wrote:
From earlier today, 11 November.[/quote]

Ah, yes. Getting fuller! Keep going!

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[quote]CLUNK wrote:

[quote]RampantBadger wrote:
… -check out Kingbeefs thread…
[/quote]

Is he even still around these forums? Dude had great potential!
[/quote]

Made a brief appearance a couple months ago but think has pretty much quit the site

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OP nice progress btw 10lbs in a month is no joke!