Countdown to 1st Contest

Okay , After I got up earlier than I intended this morning and took the pup out in the rain, I hopped on the treadmill at an inline (“7”) and fast walk pace (“3 mph”) for 30 minutes. It was still dark out, I put my clock radio on at a low volume, and kind of spaced out for a bit.

I figure I’ll try and do this every day from here on out. Obviously I’ll still keep the evening HIIT on my “off” days (twice every 6 days), but hopefully this will be the extra little bit that takes me from “normal human standards ripped” to “bodybuilding standards holy shit he’s shredded ripped”.

I was hesitant to do early morning cardio for fear of losing LBM, but hopefully with all the BCAAs I’m drinking (pounded some immediately after as I cooked my breakfast - 1 Cup egg whites with 4 slices turkey, 1/2 cup oats w/Walden farms cal free peanut spread), and feedings every couple of hours, I’ll be okay.

B-MAC13: I checked that site, actually printed out quite a few articles to add to my already ridiculous collection (I’m such an info monger). I don’t know how thrilled I am about actually doing this, and if I’m lucky, the fasted cardio will tighten things to the next level.

JDARKRAGET: Thanks man. Just remember that I built myself up pretty well before I even thought about dieting down. I’ll be the first one to tell you that you WILL lose muscle doing this, so make sure you have some in abundance -lol.

S

You look awesome.

But for the future, you should probably bring your chest up a bit more to cap it all off.

I’m pretty paranoid about losing muscle too, Stu. When I do fasted cardio I always put back some BCAAs before, during, and after - Just like when I’m training on a low-cal diet.

lookin good brotha!

you look like you just need to apply the color and take home the gold lol

arms and shoulders are definite strengths imo I’d really use those to show off your strengths when putting together your routine and even in the posedown. Side tri looks nuts.

you’ve got to be competing in the next week or two right? I think you said May no?

[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
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.[/quote]

Agreed. Well done, Stu.

Thanks guys. Yeah, My chest was always a weakness, most likely due to my naturally dominant shoulders (I did martial arts and boxed when I was younger, so I had some arm muscles, but little else until I was 20). I’ve already figured out what I’m going to do training wise to bring up my chest once this diet is over. Sadly, while it was never great, looking at pics makes me realize how much I’ve lost,… still, at least I’ve got all the little fibers and stuff from top to bottom, which is always a lot better than the big, but droopy tits some guys have.

DG- I’ve totally lost my perception on everything. Corey actually yelled at me earlier tonight because I felt fat and bloated all day. I’m just freaking out about even making my weight class, which I wouldn’t have thought was an issue just a week ago, but my scale readings have been all over the place lately. Is it even possible that the body can just say “that’s enough”, and start to horde calories, even putting on some size?!

I figure that I can’t drop my numbers anymore without seriously compromising my LBM, so today entailed not only fasted morning cardio, but 20 min of steady state after my weight session (and then 15 min tanning). I guess this is going to be my schedule the next couple of weeks, cardio twice a day (either both steady state, or morning steady and night Intervals on my off days), and even my “high” intake days will only allow for 3 P+C meals not counting incidentals (and the cals pretty much the same as the “baseline” days).

Is it possible that all the fiber (tons of lettuce and broccoli every day!) can make me weigh more? I was hoping to be well within the weight class limit before using Thibs’ water/carb outline, but now I’m wondering if I may have to truly count on the depletion to come in under 174.

And yes, the show is May 2nd, so 16 Days out (ack!)

Also, if anyone’s interested in my daily food intake:
7 am - Cup liquid egg whites
raw broccoli
4 slices turkey breast
1/2 cup oats (with Walden farms Peanut spread)
9:30 - 6 Hard boiled egg whites
2 Scoops low carb met drive
12:30- 1 chicken breast
Huge tupperware filled with lettuce
(few spritzes salad dressing)
1 cup cottage cheese (cinnamon and splenda)
2:30 - 1/2 cup oats
1 can chunk tuna
4:00 - 2 scoops Metabolic Drive Complete
7:15 - 2 scoops whey protein (+creatine)
8:30 - 1 Cup liquid egg whites
2 whole eggs
1 serv turkey pepperoni
3 slices fat free cheese
raw broccoli (+ chipotle tabasco sauce!)
10:00- 2 scoops low carb met drive

TOTALS: 2425 cals, 392g prot, 108g carbs <-this is now my HIGH DAY!>

S

I’ve been following along, you look fucking amazing. I think with the pro-tan and the lighting, you will look “holy shit he’s shredded.”

Nice work!
Dave

You mind expanding on what approach you will take to bring up your chest after the comp?

I am very shoulder/arm dominate as well and while I can put up big numbers, my chest still doesn’t like to grow.

Great thread, superb development, mighty indeed, Stu!

If I were you, I’d dream of IHOP every night.

It’s really great how light one can get while still being muscular and using illusion to look even more muscular. But I’m curious: do you look smaller in clothes, say, wearing a sweater?

This thread should really be stickied, newbs (and not-so newbs) can learn a lot from it, not just about cutting, but also about bulking and bodybuilding in general.

@waylander
Ever gave benching to the neck a try?
I used to be a big bencher, but my pecs didn’t look the part.

[quote]FattyFat wrote:
@waylander
Ever gave benching to the neck a try?
I used to be a big bencher, but my pecs didn’t look the part.

[/quote]

No I haven’t, I saw a training video of Flex Wheeler bench this way, he said it targeted more chest but I just thought I would kill myself if I tried lol. I’ll give it a shot

[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
You mind expanding on what approach you will take to bring up your chest after the comp?

I am very shoulder/arm dominate as well and while I can put up big numbers, my chest still doesn’t like to grow.[/quote]

drop the numbers and focus on contraction of the pecs.

Dumbbells and cable crossovers work well…i guess what I’m saying is try training for the pump instead of getting stronger and see if that doesn’t help.

also you chest can look twice as large compared to off season and contest dieted :wink:

as far as stu’s plans well lets let him focus on the show first lol

if I were dieting for a show my off season plans would be last on my agenda right now LOL :wink:

Just came in to give a fellow t-man some props. Hope the best for you man. Do some damage:D

[quote]Dirty Gerdy wrote:
waylanderxx wrote:
You mind expanding on what approach you will take to bring up your chest after the comp?

I am very shoulder/arm dominate as well and while I can put up big numbers, my chest still doesn’t like to grow.

drop the numbers and focus on contraction of the pecs.

Dumbbells and cable crossovers work well…i guess what I’m saying is try training for the pump instead of getting stronger and see if that doesn’t help.

also you chest can look twice as large compared to off season and contest dieted :wink:

as far as stu’s plans well lets let him focus on the show first lol

if I were dieting for a show my off season plans would be last on my agenda right now LOL ;)[/quote]

Always a good point, I’ll try both approaches.

P.S. Hey DG, when I asked you to attend to your posting duties that did not include you telling me to shut up “nicely”, ass!

Great stuff Stu man. I’ve been lurking for ages and you’re a massive inspiration. Can’t wait to find out how you go!

I intend to post a bit more later today when I can, but I just wanted to mention while it’s on my mind… I’ve been lucky to stumble on certain foods and food-items while dieting that have helped me out, not always for satiety sake, but convenience, and simplicity as well.

Just the past week I’ve come to realize how amazing the following condiments are for someone not wanting a ton of cals and/or carbs from their additives: Tabasco Chipotle Sauce, Dijonaise, Spray Salad Dressing (honey mustard flavor), and Molly McButter Cheese flavor (thanks Corey!). It seems that everything I’ve been eating lately (chicken breasts, omlettes, huge bowls full of hard boiled egg whites, you name it, get’s a splashed with one of these. I can’t imagine how horrible and dry my food would be otherwise.

The dijonaise in particular makes it a hell of alot easier to eat as many eggs as I have been lately (yesterday had 2 omlettes and two ‘feedings’ of 6 hard boiled whites). I even used it today on an economy size Canned Turkey Breast from BJ’s, then tossed it all over an entire bag o’ lettuce and had my lunch -lol. I’ll post up what my “low” (essentially keto) day’s diet looks like tonight or tomorrow, I’m sure it’s not as glamorous as some might think :slight_smile:

S

S

Hey Stu, as for your posing. Will you be doing any headstands or worms on stage? Maybe a backflip? lol.

Seriously though, have you worked out your posing routine? Hows that coming?

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Just the past week I’ve come to realize how amazing the following condiments are for someone not wanting a ton of cals and/or carbs from their additives: Tabasco Chipotle Sauce, Dijonaise, Spray Salad Dressing (honey mustard flavor), and Molly McButter Cheese flavor (thanks Corey!). It seems that everything I’ve been eating lately (chicken breasts, omlettes, huge bowls full of hard boiled egg whites, you name it, get’s a splashed with one of these. I can’t imagine how horrible and dry my food would be otherwise.
[/quote]

If you like the flavor of Wing Sauce, Frank’s Red Hot has a version of it that’s awesome. Like their catch phrase says, I put that shit on everything.

[quote]esk221 wrote:
The Mighty Stu wrote:
Just the past week I’ve come to realize how amazing the following condiments are for someone not wanting a ton of cals and/or carbs from their additives: Tabasco Chipotle Sauce, Dijonaise, Spray Salad Dressing (honey mustard flavor), and Molly McButter Cheese flavor (thanks Corey!). It seems that everything I’ve been eating lately (chicken breasts, omlettes, huge bowls full of hard boiled egg whites, you name it, get’s a splashed with one of these. I can’t imagine how horrible and dry my food would be otherwise.

If you like the flavor of Wing Sauce, Frank’s Red Hot has a version of it that’s awesome. Like their catch phrase says, I put that shit on everything.[/quote]

Seconded bro, that stuff is damn good. Are you planning to cut out all the condiments at some point? Also, how’s the steady state going?

lol, My posing routine is pretty simple. While it’s not just stomping around hitting Most Musculars, it’s by no means dancing. I think it’s more reminiscent of the old 70’s style, sweeping arm transitions into some shots, but also hitting other shots hard, with a ‘pow’ effect. I actually showed it to a friend of mine yesterday who is a big fan of going to shows and following the athletes, and he said it just looked great. Actually asked about my choreography (all me!). Let’s just hope I can hear my music on stage, and don’t lose my place.

I’ve had Frank’s Red Hot before. Great stuff. Back when my brother and I were eating everything we could to put on weight, we’d brown a lb of chopped meat, throw in a dozen eggs, some mozzarella cheese, and dose the entire frying pan in Franks Sauce -lol. I highly recommend this meal to anyone who whines about not being able to put on muscle.

I do realize that the condiments are mostly salt, and figure that as long as I drop them the last week, I should be okay. I’ve already stopped my diet soda and diet iced tea, so it’s just a timing thing. I never actually put ‘salt’ on anything, so the sodium content in the condiments is all I get. I even read online somewhere that someone cuts out their green veggies by Thursday because of the stomach bloat (and I’ve been eating waaaay too many green veggies lately).

The steady state has found it’s place in my routine. Actually, this past week I’ve been doing cardio twice a day. 1st thing in the morning, 30 min steep incline walking on a treadmill (it’s still dark out and I’m just mindlessly moving in a haze), and when I train in the afternoon, if it’s a weight day, I’ll do another 20 min steady state after, otherwise, I do 25 min of intervals after some ab and forearm work.

Because my overall cals have dropped, and I especially want to take advantage of my ‘keto’ days, I’ve been trying to really “dig in” dietwise and cardio wise on those days. In fact, I think eating too much raw broccoli yesterday gave me one hell of a stomach ache, so I won’t be doing that again (at least not several lbs worth). My diet has come to really be centered around eggs lately. They’re just filling, especially if you hard boil them, or add diced broccoli to your omlettes like I do. My food intake yesterday was as follows:

7:20 am - Cup egg whites, 2 whole eggs, 2 slices fat free cheese, raw broccoli

10:15 - Large Canned Turkey Breast with mustard and entire bag o’ lettuce. 1 snack pack of sugar free jello.

12:15 - 6 hard boiled egg whites with mustard + several bowls of raw broccoli (Molly McButter cheese flavor sprinkled all over it!)

2:30 - 1 serving Turkey Pepperoni Slices + 3 slices fat free cheese on top + several bowls of raw broccoli (Molly McButter Cheese again)

6:30 - Cup egg whites, 2 whole eggs, Turkey Pepperoni and Raw Broccoli Omlette. + snack pack sugar free jello

9pm - 2 scoops Metabolic Drive

10:15 - 4 Tbsp Natty PB

TOTALS: 1850 cals, 257g prot, 30g carbs

I’m sitting here eating a bowl of cottage cheese with Banana met drive and Cinnamon on it before I head off to train legs. I already did my steady state about 3 hours ago, and I know I’ll be dragging ass because of it. Still… it’s not about building any new muscle now.

S

That actually seems like a pretty decent amount of food, I’m surprised 4tbsp of pb fit into that.

I’ve heard eggs are one of the most allergenic foods so you have to be careful eating too many but I guess it’s not causing any problems

I’ve had Frank’s Red Hot before. Great stuff. Back when my brother and I were eating everything we could to put on weight, we’d brown a lb of chopped meat, throw in a dozen eggs, some mozzarella cheese, and dose the entire frying pan in Franks Sauce -lol. I highly recommend this meal to anyone who whines about not being able to put on muscle.

that sounds amazing to me lol…gotta try it sometime.