Stu, I hope you do really well in the contest but I actually think you looked better over 200. Obviously you couldn’t do a show at that weight but I’m just saying. Call me crazy?
Stu, best of luck, I’m rooting for you, looking forward to seeing how you turn out for the contest.
That side triceps shot looks great man.
Well, my weight now seems to be somewhere between 179 and 180 lbs. Which is good, as last week it was moving between 181 and 180, so we’re moving slowly, albeit in the right direction. Yesterday was a low intake day (both cals and carbs), and the figures, for anyone keeping track, were:
Carbs- 92g
Prot - 349g
Cals - 2255
The workout that went along with it, was merely, some weighted ab work, some wrist curls, and 20 min of intervals on an eliptical machine.
Today, on the other hand, is a high day, with the numbers coming to:
Carbs- 251g
Prot - 358g
Cals - 2995
I figured I’d list my actual intake for those curious how I came to my numbers (I’m trying to keep things simple, so no questions about why I’m eating so much oatmeal! -lol)
6:30 - 1/2 cup oats, 2 scoops Metabolic Drive
9:00 - Turkey Pepperoni, 3 slices Fat free cheese, and
Low carb protein Bar
11:00 - Chicken Breast, 1/2 cup oats
1:00 - Chicken Breast, 1/2 cup oats
3:30 - Cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup oats
7:00 - 2 scoops Whey, 2 Pop Tarts (frosted blueberry!)
8:15 - 1 cup liquid eggwhites, 3 slices Turkey
Breast,Brocoli,3 slices fat free cheese,
1 packet instant grits
10:00 - 2 scoops Metabolic Drive
I am officially 8 weeks out (May 2nd! Argh!), and am keeping very close eyes on the definition beginning to show in my quads, as well as the slow tightening of my midsection. I still feel my back and side poses are a lot better visually than the front ones, but hopefully they will catch up a bit. Here’s some shots from tonight.
S
some more
Some quarter turns
Stu – looking awesome!! Nice work!
How are your strength levels with the cut in calories? Anything drastic if any loss at all?
Where do you get your ‘Miracle Noodles’? They sound interesting.
Looking good in the back relaxed shot. Keep it up, bro.
looking good Stu, keep to it.
Keep it up Stu, as far as you’re going you’ll nail the conditioning.
LANKYMOFO- I know! I know! have my ‘moments’ where I notice my shirts fitting loosely and think ‘what the hell am I doing?!’, of course I also have the moments where I hit an ab shot in the gym mirror, and can’t believe I’m getting veins in my lower abs (which is pretty cool actually).
Overall, I think everyone should seriously diet down and see what they’ve got at least once. I mean, it’s not like I was fat at my usual 205+ lbs, in fact, I was perfectly okay with not having a shirt on, unlike a lot of guys who are on the ‘continual bulk’.
But then I’d think about how long I’ve been training, and 40’s getting closer every year… so I figured why not now. Of course I’m already planning out my post contest bulk so I can fully take advantage of the little slingshot effect I’m hoping for 
WS4JB- Thanks man. I think the side and rear relaxed shots look okay. I have a weird habit of leaning back on front shots because I always picture Dorian Yates tilted back in order to really show his lower lats.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the rest of Dorian’s build, so it ends up looking like crap. I think I’ve remedied the situation with my front lat spread, and front double bicep shots, but I still need to remind myself for the 1/4 turns.
STEELYD- Amazingly my strength levels have not really gone down. I recall mentioning this in an email to Jim Crodova, and he told me that his own levels not only stayed high during his diet, but he actually made gains. He explained it along the lines of taking advantage of the body’s survival mechanisms or something like that.
Anyway, Although I’ve cut cals, the only days where I’m REALLY LOW on both cals and carbs, only entail my doing some weighted ab work, and intervals. Any other day I’m still getting between 150 - 175g of carbs, and 2500-2700 cals. Which is low compared to what I’m used to normally, but once you figure out what foods you can juggle, and ‘pad’ your diet with, it’s not too bad after a really low day.
Thanks for the rest of the compliments guys. Not easy going some times, but I just keep thinking of the pizza and pancakes I’m planning on wolfing down after -lol.
S
Dont worry about the baggy clothes. It takes much much more discipline to be as lean as piss and retain muscle than to eat everything in sight and weigh over 200. You look good. Your diet looks right on, and i disagree that you need to hire a nutritionist/ contest guru. You have been in your body your whole life and you are a smart guy, you should listen to yourself.
when you mention the “slingshot” effect do you plan on going straight to bulking? I’ve heard a lot its better to slowly introduce calories and carbs (which I’m sure you know) but also even to maintain the weight for a little while (which may refer more to around 7% bodyfat, not actual competition conditioning)
DUHAST234- Thanks man, I need to hear that sometimes. A lot of the natty pros I’m friendly with do their own research, and prep. It’s so weird that prep-coaches have become a trend, but I guess it’s easier than actually doing all the research and constant analysis yourself. Luckily my training partner and I are total geeks, and we love to talk bodybuidling/nutrition science. This is one big experiment for us.
PUMPED340- Well, I’m sure I’ll eat some real ‘crap’ for a couple of days right after (My Birthday is 3 days later), but I certainly don’t plan on becoming a fat pig. I’ll probably bring my overall cals closer to what my maintenence used to be when I started (3400), but still keep most of my carbs from good sources. I will be able to up my serving sizes though, as opposed to filling up on green veggies at every meal, which will be nice (I do so enjoy eating).
** Here’s a question for anyone who has used tanning beds, or done a show before,… I’m going to start using the tanning bed at my gym 2x a week starting this week in an effort to slowly get a base tan for my ‘fake’ paint on deal which will be applied the day before the show. I’m guessing that I’ll only be in there for 10-15 minutes tops… Should I be wearing any sort of block, gel, cream…stuff? If you haven’t gotten a good look at my pics, I’m pretty pastey -lol.
Thanks guys.
S
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
** Here’s a question for anyone who has used tanning beds, or done a show before,… I’m going to start using the tanning bed at my gym 2x a week starting this week in an effort to slowly get a base tan for my ‘fake’ paint on deal which will be applied the day before the show. I’m guessing that I’ll only be in there for 10-15 minutes tops… Should I be wearing any sort of block, gel, cream…stuff? If you haven’t gotten a good look at my pics, I’m pretty pastey -lol.
Thanks guys.
S
[/quote]
Get a good tanning lotion. They should sell them at your tanning place. Don’t worry about getting the $500 crap that they will tell you to get, but $20-$30 should be more than enough. It sounds like a lot but definitely well worth it as tanning severely dries out your skin.
That drying of the skin is another thing to look out for when applying the fake tan. Be sure to exfoliate (sp?) well and try not to have any dry or flaky skin before the paint…the better quality your skin before the fake stuff the better it will look. If you burn, peel, or have dry flaky skin then it takes away from the fake tan.
Thanks DG, I guess I’ll just go to a Duane Reed or Right Aid and get some Tanning Lotion (not ‘Block’ right?). AGain, I’m only planning on doing this twice a week, maybe 10-15 minutes after my INterval Cardio days.
Today was one of my ‘Low’ days, which was good, because I slept late, ran to BJs, and pretty much ended up eating a lot less than I would have had I been on top of things -
It’s 7pm now, and the only reason I even got to 1900 cals so far is because I realize how little I’ve eaten, and went to town on some Peanut Butter and diet root beer (is there any better combination? -lol). Up until now, my low days have entailed keeping carbs at about 100g or so. I still had my breakfast oatmeal and a few incidentals. Today, I didn’t even have that.
I figure I’m running out of time, and even though I think I look pretty cut and on-track on my pics, I still have some pudge on my obliques, and I know my quads need to be a hell of a lot tighter than they are. I’m sure by next week I’ll be doing a little steady state cardio (20 min) on the days I’m not doing HIIT work.
At least tomorrow is a high day. 250+ carbs and 3000 cals! -of course it entails 5 bowls of oatmeal, some grits, a poptart, and a low carb protein bar… not exactly pancakes or pizza.
S
1900
Today, realizing that I’m less than 7 weeks out, I know that next week is the start of ‘pull out all the stops’ time. I decided yesterday, which was a ‘low’ day for me, that my low days from here on out would only entail carbs from incidentals. This will truly suck, as my low days are when I do my INterval cardio sessions, and I’m truly dragging ass.
Next week, I will have to drop all the numbers, carbs and cals, so I better enjoy this week. This evening I actually ate some pasta, which admitedly, I rarely do even when I’m not dieting. I guess I’ve brainwashed myself so much with the ‘carbs are evil’ BS that of course I was thinking of avoiding them on my diet. But as I was tallying up my days numbers and seeing what I could have for dinner, I realized that 3/4 cup of tri-colored rotini only has about 200 cal and 42g of carbs. So being at about 200g carbs before dinner, I treated myself
I will point out that while at BJs yesterday, I couldn’t find any tilapia, so I picked up a few bags of flounder filets. These are amazingly low in cals, and 3 filets, weighed out to only 7 oz (175 cal and 38 g prot). So combined with my pasta, and some raw brocoli with cal free (Waldenfarms) dressing, I enjoyed the semblence of a ‘normal’ meal -lol.
ANother thing I came across this week is that Tabasco Sauce has a Chipotle variation, which I am now putting on all of my eggs, chicken, and bison. Yes, I’m sure it has a ton of sodium, but I’ll cut out all my condiments the last week or so.
For those who remember last Oct when I put up notes I took from a WNBF sponsored, Bodybuilding/Kinesiology seminar, I will be attending another one this Staurday, 9 - 5 at Bob Bonham’s Strong N’ Shapely Gym in NJ. I’ve been told by Steve Downs (head of the WNBF and publisher of Nat Bodybuilding & Fitness Magazine) that there will be a section of the presentation devoted to contest posing, so hopefully I’ll come away with some good pointers. As always, I’ll keep everyone posted (or at least those who actually read my drivel on here -lol)
S
I’m wondering how all this HIIT is treating you in such a carb depleted state. It’s just a thought, but have you considered dumping some of the HIIT and doing more low intensity cardio? I hear Thibs talk about that and Lonnie Lowery seems to be a fan. They both seem to know stuff ;).
Regardless, great progress, good work. Keep plugging away.
Well, I know most Natty competitors make use of HIIT instead of steady state simply because it’s been shown to be more muscle sparing, which is kind of important -lol. It’s also damn tough, I’ll tell you that, but would you rather be done in 20 mins, or waste an hour mindlessly spacing out?
As far as doing it on my low days, I figure that even though it’s tough to do, my “workouts” on those days are so much shorter than on one of my actual weight session days. Factor in the fluctuating carb and cal intake, and as Dr Joe says, “You have to make use of those low days to really dig into your glycogen reserves”, but “you need the occassional high day to preserve your muscle”.
Sooooo even though I’m taking in less than 60g of carbs on my INterval/Cardio days, I’m still getting at least 150g of carbs on every other ‘baseline’ day, or 250g on my ‘high’ days (once every 6 days).
I will concede (and I think I mentioned this before) that I will have to start tossing in a small amount of steady state on my non-HIIT days simply to eat away some extra calories. Nothing more than 20 minutes, and considering that I usually ride a recumbant bike for 5-10 minutes before I train as a warmup (old lower back injuries!), it shouldn’t be a big deal, and will hopefully be easier to deal with than lowering my cals too much.
On an update note, it’s now about 10:45 am, and I felt really run down this morning. Actually, last night I was all congested and stuffy, so when I got up this morning at 6am and felt worse, I went back to bed. I’m doing a little better now, and by no means will I not train later tonight, but today’s plans will revolve around getting more sleep, and cooking some soup.
Actually, I just ran to the supermarket because even feeling crapy, I can’t ruin my diet. Soooooo, I picked up some plain chicken broth, and a buncha green veggies (asparagus, leaf spinach, and even though not green - canned mushrooms). I figure if I chop up one of the chicken breasts I cooked up earlier in the week, and throw it in a pot with all of these ingredients, I’ll have some soup that won’t deviate from my diet (Green veggies don’t get tallied, mushrooms are pure fiber, and chicken broth is nothing but water and sodium, which I’m not worried about yet).
I feel like such a chef, I even picked up some ground black pepper!
S
I used to always hear about HIIT being muscle sparing as well but now it seems kind of the opposite. I’m sure it’s more so than an hour jogging but compared to say 45min. walking on an incline I’d say HIIT is much more muscle wasting. I mean when you think about it it makes much more sense that high intensity glycogen depleting sprints are going to make you lose more muscle than just walking on an incline. I was always really into HIIT when I first found out about it but after about a year of constantly hearing about it I didn’t know too many bodybuilders (even naturals) who actually did it and didn’t do steady state (I personally would still choose it over high intensity steady state though)
edit: Just so you know I do not have experience in competitions, this is just what I have read/seen from other bodybuilders.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Well, I know most Natty competitors make use of HIIT instead of steady state simply because it’s been shown to be more muscle sparing, which is kind of important -lol. It’s also damn tough, I’ll tell you that, but would you rather be done in 20 mins, or waste an hour mindlessly spacing out?
As far as doing it on my low days, I figure that even though it’s tough to do, my “workouts” on those days are so much shorter than on one of my actual weight session days. Factor in the fluctuating carb and cal intake, and as Dr Joe says, “You have to make use of those low days to really dig into your glycogen reserves”, but “you need the occassional high day to preserve your muscle”.
Sooooo even though I’m taking in less than 60g of carbs on my INterval/Cardio days, I’m still getting at least 150g of carbs on every other ‘baseline’ day, or 250g on my ‘high’ days (once every 6 days).
I will concede (and I think I mentioned this before) that I will have to start tossing in a small amount of steady state on my non-HIIT days simply to eat away some extra calories. Nothing more than 20 minutes, and considering that I usually ride a recumbant bike for 5-10 minutes before I train as a warmup (old lower back injuries!), it shouldn’t be a big deal, and will hopefully be easier to deal with than lowering my cals too much.
On an update note, it’s now about 10:45 am, and I felt really run down this morning. Actually, last night I was all congested and stuffy, so when I got up this morning at 6am and felt worse, I went back to bed. I’m doing a little better now, and by no means will I not train later tonight, but today’s plans will revolve around getting more sleep, and cooking some soup.
Actually, I just ran to the supermarket because even feeling crapy, I can’t ruin my diet. Soooooo, I picked up some plain chicken broth, and a buncha green veggies (asparagus, leaf spinach, and even though not green - canned mushrooms). I figure if I chop up one of the chicken breasts I cooked up earlier in the week, and throw it in a pot with all of these ingredients, I’ll have some soup that won’t deviate from my diet (Green veggies don’t get tallied, mushrooms are pure fiber, and chicken broth is nothing but water and sodium, which I’m not worried about yet).
I feel like such a chef, I even picked up some ground black pepper!
S
[/quote]
Hello Stu:
I’m really interested on this one because I’ll be adding HIIT this or the next week. How would your sumarized cardio progression look?
ex.
-1 HIIT session for 15 minutes and 2 low intensity sessions (3 weeks).
-2 HIIT sessions for 15 minutes and 1 low intensity (4 weeks).
-2 HIIT sessions for 20 minutes and 2 low intensity (3 weeks).
I don’t intend to try to copy your protocol with this, but I think you get the idea about the cardio progression you have used and will use in the upcoming weeks.