Stu
You gave the appearance of very big in many of your poses. Your posing from pics I see was 10x better than the posing of those around you and your conditioning was top notch. I think you have a great package bro and your legs and back are much better than most natty’s I’ve seen. Great work man!
[quote]MEYMZ wrote:
A question for you and all the tanners out there:
I’m hispanic, so it’s unlikely for me to burn and more probable to be tanned more easily. Which tanning protocol would you suggest for someone like me to get something like a Hollywood tan? sorry guys.[/quote]
sunbed?
Epic journey Stu! Thanks for the updates 
[quote]Kerley wrote:
MEYMZ wrote:
A question for you and all the tanners out there:
I’m hispanic, so it’s unlikely for me to burn and more probable to be tanned more easily. Which tanning protocol would you suggest for someone like me to get something like a Hollywood tan? sorry guys.
sunbed?[/quote]
LOL yeah bro but about weeks tanning and minutes per tanning session.
Congratulations Stu, you are a hero and a legend! Humble, fair and honest.You deserved it!
[quote]elusive wrote:
You looked great Stu.
Whats your plans now?
Do you plan on competing again in the near future? You made reference to keeping your weight controlled in the offseason, which of course would make your dieting down easier.
Justin Harris always says, how a bodybuilder never becomes “better” until he competes. Claiming, you learn what you need to work on, the competition (other guys) motivates you to keep trucking along and the post contest rebounds all contributes to making you “better”. What do you feel about that thought?
Also, would you have changed anything with your carb/sodium manipulations that last week? [/quote]
While there are a few contests that were brought to my attention that I could enter this coming fall, I have no intention of having to deal with a contest diet during the hot NY summer months. The last thing I would want to be doing is interval work on a day where I wake up stuck to my bed sheets from an especially humid evening -lol.
I will admit that I’m thinking specifically about a show in Manhattan in June 2010. I figure with what I understand better about my body, and if I can keep myself within 15-20 lbs of contest weight, I wouldn’t have to actually start my diet until March 2010, which would certainly give me a better sense of what to expect, and hopefully, hold onto a few more lbs of LBM this time around.
As far as the contest making me “better”,… well, I can see how I have a much better ‘plan of attack’ when I go into the gym now. Actually, I found myself planning out my rebound mass gain plan a good month before the actual contest even took place. When I was emailing Corodova way back before I even committed to this show, I was considering not even entering a show, but dieting down just to use the rebound to bring up lagging areas (he argued that it would be foolish to miss an opportunity to get onstage, even if I felt I wasn’t truly ready, he said it would be a good experience). I knew that I was a good deal off of being perfectly proportioned even then, but now, at least I feel like I’ve gotten a good grade on what I consider my ‘decent’ body parts, so there is most certainly more incentive to bring up the rest, and really show the judges what I can bring to the table.
As far as what I did the last week,… well, my bottom line was to keep things as simple as possible. I know some guys mess with their fats and sodium levels, but I really didn’t want to get all crazy like that and really risk over complicating things (not to mention really gambling with my final condition). Yes, I did cut out condiments because of their sodium content, but I wasn’t salting my foods in anticipation of the drop, nor was I ever even measuring my fat intake at any point in my 12 week countdown. The only things I really monitored were my overall cals, and my carbs, both of which I played with on a daily basis.
My protein was monitored the last week only, and that was because I needed to deplete my glycogen, and even if my carbs were nonexistent, if my protein intake was too high, my body would make glucose from the excess aminos (this was when I found myself intentionally looking for foods where the fat content was higher than the protein content! All in all, I can’t complain. All the feedback I received from the promoter, the backstage expediter, and especially the comments the judges relayed to my brothers, shared a definite common praise: my conditioning was on the money (“unreal”, “best in the show”… take your pick, I was pretty damn happy to hear that all my suffering was noticed -lol). Of course, everyone is always a little different, and I have been getting strange looks when people ask me what my diet was, and my response is that it was a weekly, sometimes almost daily matter of assessment, and readjustment. Luckily Corey was my 2nd pair of eyes, because competitors aren’t kidding when they say that your objectivity goes right out the window.
S
[quote]MEYMZ wrote:
A question for you and all the tanners out there:
I’m hispanic, so it’s unlikely for me to burn and more probable to be tanned more easily. Which tanning protocol would you suggest for someone like me to get something like a Hollywood tan? sorry guys.[/quote]
Hmnnn, I’ll be honest, I tried doing the fake tanning thing, and even on the weeks where I was consistent, it never really came out like a very good base tan. After a few weeks, I pretty much said screw it and decided I would just rely on several coats of pro-tan (although in hindsight, I would recommend Dreamtan instead, it’s much darker and only needs one application the morning of the show!)
S
[quote]Free2Be wrote:
Stu
You gave the appearance of very big in many of your poses. Your posing from pics I see was 10x better than the posing of those around you and your conditioning was top notch. I think you have a great package bro and your legs and back are much better than most natty’s I’ve seen. Great work man![/quote]
Thanks so much. I’m still a little surprised when I look at some of the pics! My back did seem to garner me a lot of praise from other competitors, and probably affected my scoring quite a bit (when my brother asked a judge how I did, the judge described me as the “guy who looks like Yates” [which made my day!], and the scoring sheets had “conditioning” and “calves” written next to my number). Still, Although I do feel like I made a lot of progress on my legs in the last 6 months (I hadn’t squatted in over a year due to a back injury!), if it weren’t for my hams and calves (2 body parts I think most nattys are notoriously weak in), I doubt I would have been able to hang with the Top 5 during the Open Class.
Judging by the pics I’ve seen, yes, I’m fairly pleased as to the ‘quality’ of my quads, they do look pretty solid (although in some pics I look like I forgot to flex em!), and the tears drops as well as the separation are very well etched. BUT my outer quad sweep is without a doubt lagging somewhat. It’s one of the areas I’m aiming to really bring up, and I’m sure it will put to the test just how much of a knowledgeable trainer I really am.
S
hey stu out of curiousity where do you train?
You would most likely do well on 10-20 minutes three times a week.
I’m a big believer in tanning frequency (it brings out that nice bronzed look) but in your case every day is not necessary.
[quote]crod266 wrote:
hey stu out of curiousity where do you train?[/quote]
Currently training at Platinum Gym in Rego Park NY. I actually posted up a free workout pass in my profile if anyone ever wants to drop in. The owner doesn’t honor free workouts for potential members, but I talked him into this as a free PR thing for T-Nation folks.
S
[quote]LiveFromThe781 wrote:
LUEshi wrote:
Lueshi, who is that magnificent piece of ass?
No idea. Have some more.
nvm she looks chunky, you can have her.[/quote]
you call that chunky?
Congrats man. Not sure how I missed this thread, it blew up within a few days.
Solid physique
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
crod266 wrote:
hey stu out of curiousity where do you train?
Currently training at Platinum Gym in Rego Park NY. I actually posted up a free workout pass in my profile if anyone ever wants to drop in. The owner doesn’t honor free workouts for potential members, but I talked him into this as a free PR thing for T-Nation folks.
S
[/quote]
o nice maybe i will have to stop by and hit up a workout with you haha where is that exactly, is it in the city itself or no? btw have u ever trained at bevs francis powerhouse gym in syosset?
Great job Stu!
Congrats!
I know I’ve been a little slow with the finishing my play by play, but in the meantime,… because I love you guys, here’s a clip from my Novice Overall win. Remember, this was my first show (also, I apologize if I reduced the quality a little much, the original clip was pretty huge, DV camcorder!)
S
[quote]crod266 wrote:
o nice maybe i will have to stop by and hit up a workout with you haha where is that exactly, is it in the city itself or no? btw have u ever trained at bevs francis powerhouse gym in syosset? [/quote]
Platinum’s actually right on Queens Blvd, technically it’s in Rego Park, but it’s only a block out of forest hills if you have an idea where that is (actually it’s a few blocks off of the LIE). You’re more than welcome to drop by, hell, I originally put the free pass up when I realized there were a lot of T-Folk in NY and thought it’d be cool to train at other peoples’ gyms.
I’ve never been to Bevs, but it’s sort of becoming the predominant hardcore gym on the east coast. I have some buddies who live on L.I. and train there, but I think my days of driving over half an hour to workout are behind me. I actually live around the corner from my current gym, so you can imagine the convenience of that for a gym rat such as myself 
S
damn dude, whooped his ass.
hey Stu,
I dont no if this was asked already if it was tell me to piss off but is there anything leading up to the show or while on stage doing your routine or anything that you will do differently next time you do a compete in a show?
thanks kerley