Countdown to 1st Contest

Training Bodybuilding
201

METMZ- I’m ‘aiming’ for 170 lbs. I figure I’m hovering about 175 this week, and with less 23 days to go, I’m going to just try to stay on track, and if I can, take an extra walk each day to the local shopping mall (get in a little extra NEPA if I can). I put down on the contest application that I would be 173, which hopefully will make me one of, if not the, largest middleweight.

LUEshi- I tanned last night for 10 minutes, and 15 the night before, and it looks pretty good today, definitely like I was out in the sun. I will note though that last night I was itchy as all hell, especially in the areas not normally exposed to the sun (lower back, ass checks, upper thighs etc). I may just try to get 5 minutes every other day form here on out, and let the 5 - 7 coats of pro-tan do their thing.

LilDaDDyDreW- I am getting comments from people I don’t normally interact with in the gym. The gym owner loves that I put down that I’m “representing” his gym on the application, but the couple of personal trainers (if you can call them that -lol) don’t seem too happy. They never seemed to like that I helped people out for free (not to mention, I LOOK like I know what I’m doing!), but now, well, now I’m the “guy who’s competing in that show in May”. People I don;'t know are telling me that they’re going to drive out and support me. Kinda cool feeling actually :slight_smile:

ELUSIVE- I think taking Big Jay’s approach would be the surest way to get a burn. I’m ridiculously sensitive, probably from years under fluorescent bulbs working in animation studios. I’m hoping that the Pro-Tan earns it’s keep, I bought the BIG Bottle!

POnceDeLeon- You know, my girl thinks this is actually pretty damn cool. IN the past, I’ve dated girls who end up giving themselves all sorts of complexes, and eating disorders because of me. I would never say anything negative to anyone, and I most certainly never expect other people to adhere to the insane standards I set for myself, but in hindsight, I’m sure there were more than one instance where a girl thought to herself “Stu says he needs to lose 5 lbs?! He must think I’m a pig!”, or times when I’m cutting a bit for summer, and at a restaurant, my grilled chicken salad gets put in front of the girl, and her burger and fries get put in front of me.

The cool thing, is that my girlfriend actually doesn’t view me as the typical meat-head. She understands that I view bodybuilding as ‘art’, and that except for when I’m training in the gym, I cover up as completely as I can. I’m certainly not some insecure ass who needs the attention of a t-shirt that looks like it was bought in the children’s department.

The part that makes me feel good about our relationship, is that she never says ‘you look great’, she compliments my dedication, and application of knowledge which I readily sought out and researched. She’s much more impressed that I have multiple masters’ degrees, and was a college professor for a while than the fact that I look like a superhero (although I’d wager that she doesn’t mind that part too much -lol). She’s actually going out of town for a week, and just this morning mentioned that while she’d never want to look like a female bodybuilder, she’s kicking around the idea of maybe training for a figure contest (which would be perfect for her, as she’s already in great shape, 5’1, maybe 105-110 lbs).

Sooooo Today is a high day, and I’m feeling no pain! Already put down 2 bowls of oatmeal, and 2 poptarts (it’s about 2:30 pm, and I just got back from the gym). I’ll be visiting my Uncle in NJ, and while I will be bringing my cooler filled with chicken, cottage cheese, and my usual rations, the fact that I can still take in about 100-150g of carbs today will make it a lot more bearable :slight_smile:

I’m not planning on lowering my numbers anymore. I figure they’re as low as I can go without really starting to lose muscle (I can see some striations in my right tricep if I look REALLY hard!). As of now, my numbers are:

Low Day: <40g carbs, 2050 cals
Baseline Day: 120-130g carbs, 2400 cals
High Day: 230-250g carbs, 2800-3000 cals

I am doing 25 minutes of intervals on a recumbent bike every 3rd day, as well as doing a very easy, steady state 15 minute warm up before every weight session. I have off of work next week, so I’ll be trying to take the dog for a few extra walks if I can, and if weather permits, maybe hit the local golf course for a little “meathead-pitch’n’putt” (which is basically pitch n putt, but some gym rats and myself play without our shirts in a horribly vain attempt to get a tan -lol)

S

202

You have some great attitude Stu! The comment about the girls thinking they’d look like pigs towards your eyes caught my attention. The first time I shedded some bodyfat I got a little higher than 180. I was at my school’s gym and saw a professor on the cardio.

We started to talk and he said ‘yeah, I’m about 180lbs (obese lbs) right now too’ like putting us on the same level. Then I said ‘but I figure out I have like other 5kg to go for looking good (meaning the ripped abz look)’ and he replied 'I feel just good right now, again like putting me on his overweight situation. We’ll now I am ‘overweight’ even though I have abs.

That kinda pissed me off but made me reflect about the lack of notion people have about body composition. I find two contrary (flawed) situations regarding this topic:

-A public measuring of BMI. When a dedicated lifter does it, the thoughts from the average Joe will be ‘he’s high, so he’s morbidly obese’. That shit says that your (Stu’s) ideal weight should be about 165, but if you got like that you’d surely have to loose some pounds of muscle.

-You’re gaining some mass. You have got to 220 at 5 8", which I think is pretty decent, assuming the bulking attempt didn’t get you like a fat slob. And then comes some fatty that is lifting for 6 months and says ‘I’m 210’ implying that he’s jacked, on the same level, just because his bodyweight is high. It would be funny to see what happended if the first challenged the second to take off shirts.

Both of these have happened to me and are equally annoying.

203

I really hope this thread gets stickied. A very detailed and most importantly, succesful, contest diet for our viewing pleasure. I will certainly be using this as a guide when I chose to lean down.

Awesome job Stu.

204

Even though I’m not changing my numbers, tonight, instead of my 15 min steady state bike warm-up, I raised it to 20. I know it will sound like I’m doing too much cardio, but only the 2 days of intervals are actually ‘hard work’. The steady state warmups are essentially me peddling mindlessly while reading whatever pseudo-intellectual BS book I happen to have that week. I will note though, and I guess this is to be expected, that after spending so much time using my legs (even though I wasn’t straining in the least), I had absolutely no definition or cuts in my quads. I couldn’t flex them and see anything.

Sooo that just reinforces the reason to not pump up your legs before a show, and why you always see competitors laying down with their feet elevated. My torso though look pretty dry, and when hitting a few arm shots, I noticed that even when flexing my bicep, I can now see the delineation of the different heads of my tricep (weird? cool? I’m not entirely sure -lol).

I finally received my Vegetable Glycerine in the mail, so I’ll be using that for my carb up the day before the show, and I also received POWDERED PEANUT BUTTER. I know, I know, what the hell? It was billed basically as what it says, powdered peanut butter. Apparently you can reconstitute it with water, or just use it as is in shakes, or on food. The big difference though, is the cals and numbers of macros.

I’m a total peanut butter fiend, and the fact that a serving of PB costs me 200 cals is a painful one. Well, earlier today, I put the same size (2 Tbsp) serv of powdered PB into a bowl of oatmeal, and while it tastes peanut butter-y (not exactly the same, but pretty close), it was only 50 cals. We’ll see if I continue to appreciate it the next few days, or if it’s just a novelty for the moment.

S

205

Great thread and cut. Will you ever drop below 2k cals, and will you ever drop all dairy. If so, when? Thanks.

206

Speaking of dairy:

What food allergies have you “developed,” Mighty Stu? :slight_smile:

207

Stu,

Trader Joe’s has a Better’n Peanut Butter product that is basically defatted PB - it has half the calories (100 cals / TBSP instead of 200 cals of regular PB).

Look for it. The PB tastes like a Reese’s.

208

“” I am getting comments from people I don’t normally interact with in the gym. The gym owner loves that I put down that I’m “representing” his gym on the application, but the couple of personal trainers (if you can call them that -lol) don’t seem too happy. They never seemed to like that I helped people out for free (not to mention, I LOOK like I know what I’m doing!), but now, well, now I’m the “guy who’s competing in that show in May”. People I don;'t know are telling me that they’re going to drive out and support me. Kinda cool feeling actually :slight_smile: “”

Thats awesome man. If you were closer i’d go drive and support you as well. I know I don’t got to tell you why the trainers are feeling that way lol. Keep it up man May is right around the corner!

209

[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
Stu,

Trader Joe’s has a Better’n Peanut Butter product that is basically defatted PB - it has half the calories (100 cals / TBSP instead of 200 cals of regular PB).

Look for it. The PB tastes like a Reese’s.[/quote]

Appreciate the heads up, but I checked the macro breakdown, and it actually has more carbs than regular (natty) PB,… so I guess I’ll just have to tough it out a few more weeks :frowning:

I found myself doing something that I’m sure most of you will find kind of funny. While doing my Intervals the other night, instead of just listening to music on my IPOD, I actually put on the Yates’ Blood and Guts (converted it to an MP4 format), and listened to Dorian and his Partner screaming at me (couldn’t really watch the screen at the time) while I would hit the ‘sprint’ portions of my sessions -lol. Quite inspiring, I found myself thinking “Dorian wouldn’t whine about this, he’d just push himself harder!”

As much as I know water weight can make a difference of several lbs on the scale, even just a couple of hours apart, I’m worried about stalling out with 3 weeks to go. Last week was the first week I didn’t drop an entire lb, and the last few days, the fluctuations in my scale readings have been pretty erratic. Going as low as 173.8, and as high as 177 (which really freaked me out). I’m obviously going to try to get some extra NEPA this week, but don’t want to play too much with the cals.

What did occur to me, and I’d love to feedback on this, is if maybe I should shuffle my different intake days. Maybe instead of 2 ‘low’ days out of every 6, I should try 3? I figure this way I’ll still have some moderate days, and even one high day (which isn’t really very high anymore) to balance things out and keep the body from downshifting too much. I’d also love some thoughts on my plan to drop anything containing sodium the last week. No, I don’t intend to sodium load, or anything like that (I want to keep this as simple as I can), but I figure with all the diet stuff I’ve been drinking, I’m sure that may add to the water retention. A little advice guys?

S

210

I think I’m just seeing the newest pic now, looking crazy Stu

211


Man, I’m really hoping my water is all over the place because of all the diet root beer I’ve been drinking. When I got out of bed this morning, I was 173.2 lbs. After my breakfast (cup egg whites, 3 fat free cheese slices, 1/2 cup oatmeal) the scale read 176.6… what the hell?! -lol a 3 lbs difference from eating that little? Did I really drink so much? 2 glasses of water, and the water in the oatmeal…

Corey (training partner) says my legs look tighter, which is good, because I spent the day thinking that my obliques actually look fatter! I hope I’m just losing all objectivity here, because I’d hate to think my body reached the point where it just doesn’t want to progress anymore. If the show weren’t so close, I’d think of taking a few days to reset, but the best I can do is wait until my ‘high’ intake day on Wednesday, and try to add some extra NEPA wherever I can. Here are some new pics from tonight. I still think my front bicep shot is the worst, as my hip bones will always create the illusion of a fat waist, even if I get completely fat-free… at least other parts are looking a little better. Hopefully the fake tan will add a lot.

S

212

few more

214

I think you look tighter. In fact, I think you look about done… lol.

215

Looking good man. Back shots look sick. If the scale hasn’t budged, I think it’s probably time to hit some steady state to get to that next level peeled.

216

Stu:

Make an animated GIF of yourself doing a Captain Morgan, closeup to your face, smiling while flashing your teeth as you’re about to bite into a freshly toasted Pop Tart that your lady hands you.

Instant endorsement.

217

I have never seen a more defined lower leg then yours, its fucking amazing.

218

Serious question:

Are you allowed to be airbrushed? Say you wanted to accentuate certain muscles. Could you airbrush instead of tan?

I know figure competitors do it but I haven’t heard of male BBers doing it.

219

B-MAC13: I’ve actually started the steady state about a week ago. While I used to do 5 mins as a warmup for my lower back, it jumped to 10, then 15, and this past week, I am now doing 20 minutes of peddling on a recumant bike before I do anything else. Corey thinks the answer is steady state, I guess if nothing by next week, then I’ll end up spending all my free time on the bike, sipping BCAAs in an attempt to hold onto some muscle -lol. Corey also thinks my quad cuts look better than I do, but I know all objectivity is just gone at this point, and all I keep thinking of is how shredded guys like Cordova and Whitacre get… and my damn thick obliques!

PONCE: You know, when I was in high school I used to airbrush t-shirts, and one day actually tried to give my brother a set of washboard abs. My Mother walked in a screamed at me for spraying him with toxic paints, but we thought it looked pretty cool. I know some guys get the spray-tans. I just don’t think they’re going to be any better than the 5-7 coats of pro-tan I’ll be applying (which I might add, my GF offered to call in sick to work and paint me on friday,… so supportive!)

I will admit to getting just a little nervous here. Less than three weeks to go, and the last week will be Thib’s “6 days” article, so that gives me less than 2 weeks to get things in order. I decided to drop my numbers one last time:

“Low days” - 1800-1900 cals, <50g carbs
“baseline” - 2200-2300 cals, <100g carbs
(all carbs from 2
bowls of oatmeal and
incidentals", that’s it!)
“High days” - 2300-2500 cals, <150g carbs
(3 bowls of oatmeal +
“incidentals”)

I also decided to add some BCAAs to the gallon jug of water I carry around. I figure with what I drink in the morning, afternoon, periworkout, and evening, I’m probably getting about 2 gallons of water every day. Actually, I haven’t been doing this the last 5 days or so (off from work for a bit), an I’m wondering if that, combined with all of the lettuce and broccoli I’ve been eating has had some effect on my weight. Next week I’ll be eliminating all diet soda, diet green ice tea, and TRYING to limit my sugarfree gum chewing. What I hope I won’t need to get rid of are my Montery Chicken Seasoning and my Tabasco sauce.

I also discovered this weekend that hard boiled egg whites are quite filling (moreso than omlettes!) So I picked up 5 dozen at BJs, and now have quite a huge bowl to pick at in my fridge. I figure my last week will have very little aside from chicken breasts, eggs, lettuce, and maybe a Tbsp of PB for a treat.

Something Corey suggested, which I’m up in the air about, is to get a ‘cleaning out’ so to speak. You know, one of those “drink this and then don’t leave your house for 10 hours” type of deals. I really thought that with all the broccoli and lettuce I was eating every day (at least an entire bag of lettuce and 2 huge servings of broccoli a day, sometimes a bunch of celery as well), that things were getting along fine, but again, I’m a little freaked with my scale readings. Has anyone ever tried one of these “things”?

S

220

Just stoppin by to give some props. You’re looking pretty darn shredded! Best of luck at contest time i think you’ll do great. Gimme 3-5 more years and I hope to be close to where you are.

HARDWORK=RESULTS

221

Ever think about hitting some incline walking on the treadmill? I find that the bike really screws with my quads and have heard other guys having some trouble with it close to a show, with some overuse. Just a thought.

Also, as per the flush. Do a search over at intensemuscle for the heckman flush. It works great, and not one of those type of deals where you can’t leave your house. I noticed a difference in the first couple of days.

Stay strong, keep grindin’.