First Contest ~ My Prep Log

Training
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[quote]iplan wrote:

[quote]pwolves17 wrote:
Great progress iplan! I have to agree with Myosin that you would probably be best served to choose a contest at a later date in the summer. If finances aren’t an issue, and there are several close together, I would recommend doing 2 or 3 shows. Your first will be a learning experience no matter what, so having a second and possibly third contest will give you a chance to put to use and make any necessary changes to your posing, nutrition on the day of show, carb intake, etc, whereas if you are disappointed in a particular aspect of your presentation/preparation the day of your only contest, it will be tough to not be frustrated and feel that you didn’t get to present the physique you were truly capable of. Also, regarding nutrition, what are your current macros? Looking through your thread, I haven’t seen much talk of your macro breakdown, just of your food choices.

While lowering portion sizes and eating “clean” foods will get you beach lean, to get to a true level of contest conditioning you will need to be very focused and precise with your macros, rather than just eat “less oats,” “less fish”, etc. If this is not how you’ve been making dietary adjustments, then disregard my statements!

Anyway, great progress so far my friend, and good luck the rest of the way![/quote]

@ Myosin ~ I’ve looked at the later contests in my area, and there is one on August 10th (it is sponsored by the NPC ~ which I think is under the IFBB).

Just out of curiosity, what if I just “lived” on the treadmill until June 15? Would that be a bad idea and how much weight could I realistically cut in doing that?

@PWolves: As to my “Macros” ~ well I must admit that I’m really not sure. I’ve been following Swolle’s suggested diet for me (see page 2) ~~~ I’m not really sure what the breakdown is, and I guess I need to figure that out at some point.

[/quote]

I would definitely use an app like myfitnesspal or fitday for a few days to log the food you’re eating each day and see where you’re sitting as far as macros go, and make adjustments from there. Looking at the diet Swolle gave you, it looks like a great diet for general fat loss and getting into the best shape of your life, but like I said, I think you are at the point where you will need to get more specific to take your conditioning to the next level. That diet may get Swolle into contest condition, but variables such as differences in muscle mass, metabolic rate, activity level, etc will necessitate a more individually tailored approach. I guess what I’m wanting to say is that a “one size fits all” approach to contest prep isn’t going to yield optimal results for you, in my opinion.

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[quote]pwolves17 wrote:

I would definitely use an app like myfitnesspal or fitday for a few days to log the food you’re eating each day and see where you’re sitting as far as macros go, and make adjustments from there. Looking at the diet Swolle gave you, it looks like a great diet for general fat loss and getting into the best shape of your life, but like I said, I think you are at the point where you will need to get more specific to take your conditioning to the next level. That diet may get Swolle into contest condition, but variables such as differences in muscle mass, metabolic rate, activity level, etc will necessitate a more individually tailored approach. I guess what I’m wanting to say is that a “one size fits all” approach to contest prep isn’t going to yield optimal results for you, in my opinion.
[/quote]

Okay ~ progress! ~ and thanks for the direction and guidance.

Per your suggestion: I input my typical meal schedule into fitday.com

Here where the results:

  1. just under 2,000 calories @ 1943 calories.
  2. protein: 43% ~ 206g
    carbs: 21% ~ 80g
    fats: 36% ~ 107g

I did not include lettuce, green beans, etc., but I don’t eat much of them. I’d probably have 2000 - 2050 calories if I included those.

Does this look like a very good breakdown?

Today(Monday morning), after Sunday’s refeed, the scale read: 191.2.

Today is JM’s Reactive Pump Chest Heavy day.

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Current weight: 188.9 lbs

Total Calories: +/- 2000 slightly more on workout days, slightly less on rest days

Macro Break Downs:
Protein 206g
Carbs 107g
Fats: 80g

Today is a rest day ~~~~~ and my right shoulder is soooooo sore. Those Bent Over lateral raises on JMs chest day are sweet, but there is a greatly appreciated physical therapy component (*which is something my right shoulder needs a lot of) going on in the long run also. My TENS device working overtime this morning.

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The macros look pretty solid I would say. Going below 1800 calories is generally considered bad news for lean mass and can be metabolically damaging. I’m definitely not an expert, maybe if you could get ahold of Stu or Zraw they would be willing to give you a few ideas. I’m a big fan of keeping a significant percentage of your carbs to your periworkout window, as I feel that the body can efficiently use them and you can still keep carbs in your diet.

How about this for a week or two to see how it goes: 90 total carbs per day, with 30 of those coming in the form of gatorade/powerade powder consumed during your training? I personally love the effect in terms of pump and endurance, and it could give you a little kickstart in regards to continued fat loss. I’m sure you’ve already been hungry during your prep, but with the end of the prep within striking distance, you’ll have to accept that hunger/feeling like crap on some days is inevitable, but well worth it in the end.

If you can find Sara Lee 45 calorie honey wheat bread, that was a lifesaver for me during prep! 7 g carbs, 45 cals per slice. A slice of that, few sprays of “calorie free” butter, some garlic salt, fat free cheese, and you’ve got some cheesy garlic bread! A great side with many meals to help you keep your sanity

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Well ~ progress is being made.

Visable vascularity can now be observed through the abdomen (mostly on the sides), and there is also improving muscle separation between the quads and hamstrings.

Post cheat day weight was higher than I expected at 192 lbs, but I’m not worried. I tend to shed that refeed weight really quickly.

Today is Leg Day. the marquis attraction is Stiff Leg Dead Lifts: 10x10.

I was at 188 last week… Shooting for 187-ish this week.

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Been awhile since my last update, and a lot has happened.

I switched over to JM’s Reactive Pump (which is a 5-day split) about 3 weeks ago. I was doing a 6-day split. Since the switch over, my weight has stagnated ~ holding at 190 lbs (though the mirror is looking better by slight degrees ~ namely abdomenal quad, and upper arm vascularity ~ and the little “side abs” ~~~~ I always thought they were “ribs” ~~~~ maybe that’s what they are… ).

That said, I’m attributing the weight stagnation to the absence of the extra training day… (so I guess I need some to add cardio)? I don’t want to cut my calories anymore if I can help it…

On other fronts: I’ve got a workout partner. It is fun to have someone to talk with. Since I workout in my garage (at 10pm) workout partners are scarce. His oldest son and my youngest son are good friends, so there is a natural connection.

I will say that he is absolutely a squatting beast. One of the first workouts we did together was a leg day (last week). He hadn’t worked out in about 5 years. He put 95 lbs on the squat rack bar, and I thought, “that’s smart, he’s starting slow and working back into it.” Well, he worked up to 315 lbs, then did 4 sets of 10 with 315 lbs. My jaw was on the floor ~ as 315 was my 1 rep max… The man has a gift ~ lol

It’s been fun, and I decided to put Squats back on the menu ~ after a 6 month hiatus. On Monday, I was able to work up to 3 sets of 5 at 225 lbs before my left quad began to complain ~ but I’ll be back for more when squats come up again.

Need to get some updated pictures… I’ll work on that soon.

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An extra training day should only be making your weight stagnate if you’re actually gaining muscle on your current macros, or if you’ve raised your daily numbers in anticipation of accommodating that training day and in doing so have shifted your net caloric balance to the point that you’re not losing weight anymore.

NOW, it IS entirely possible to be packing on muscle and still losing fat, BUT you’re going to have to be completely honest with yourself when you look at photos, or in the mirror.

To be honest, I didn’t check in on this thread as often as I planned to, but every time I did you were in the 190’s. If I had a client cutting for a show and they hovered in a certain weight range as long as you have, I would have made some serious changes to the plan long ago.

If your plan is to recomp for a while, then don’t worry about the weight stagnating. Building more muscle is never a bad thing. If instead you’ve got another show in your sites, you need to realistically figure how much time you’ve got, and get things moving better than they were in your initial cut.

S

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[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
An extra training day should only be making your weight stagnate if you’re actually gaining muscle on your current macros, or if you’ve raised your daily numbers in anticipation of accommodating that training day and in doing so have shifted your net caloric balance to the point that you’re not losing weight anymore.

NOW, it IS entirely possible to be packing on muscle and still losing fat, BUT you’re going to have to be completely honest with yourself when you look at photos, or in the mirror.

To be honest, I didn’t check in on this thread as often as I planned to, but every time I did you were in the 190’s. If I had a client cutting for a show and they hovered in a certain weight range as long as you have, I would have made some serious changes to the plan long ago.

If your plan is to recomp for a while, then don’t worry about the weight stagnating. Building more muscle is never a bad thing. If instead you’ve got another show in your sites, you need to realistically figure how much time you’ve got, and get things moving better than they were in your initial cut.

S

[/quote]

Stu:

Thanks for the input man. I really appreciate you taking the time to check in on my progress from time to time.

I think you nailed it here: “If your plan is to recomp for a while, then don’t worry about the weight stagnating. Building more muscle is never a bad thing.”

After some evaluation, I think my focus is definetly more of obtaining a better long term condition, and not necessarily hitting a contest date in an absolutely shredded condition.

I moved my target contest date (which had been June 15) out to August 10 to better facilitate a longer cut with the idea of improving at the same time. So I’m 7 weeks out (I guess I’m still behind).

I have been boosting my numbers in every lift under the JM protocol ~ so I think there is a possibility that I am adding some muscle to my frame ~ which may account for a weight stagnation.

Incidentally, this morning, my wife gave me the once over as I was coming out of the shower, and commented (voluntarily) that she could “still see a lot of body recomp going on” ~ namely in a “broader chest and smaller waist” (Her words). I immediately walked to the bathroom scale: it was 188.1 lbs.

Mentally, I’m not battling hunger, or excessive fatigue. I think my main battle is simply a matter of “knowing” what I should be doing that is differently than what I’m currently doing.

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Frustration ~~~~ setting in…

At the beginning of the week I made some diet changes on the council of a friend (which was to go “no carb” and see what happens), and some of the comments in this thread regarding weight loss. After losing 37lbs from my peak weight, I’m now just 13 lbs from what I think would be decent contest shape (which would have me taking the stage at 175 lbs).

Got on the scale this morning, and saw that I weigh exactly what I did at the beginning of the week. I’m not sure how long it takes a zero carb diet to work. Also, I was already consuming < 100 carbs per day, so other than a couple of carb withdrawl headaches (which I got pretty quickly the first day), I’ve got nothing to show for it.

I read on JM’s post about 1.4 grams of protein .4 grams of fat, and then adjusting carbs based on goals. I’m going to give the no carb approach a few more days before I change anything up.

Also, has anyone here heard of “Primo Labs” out of Canada? I saw an ad of there’s in a bodybuilding mag I have. They seem to offer supplements that have “steroid” names, but they claim they are not steroids… Seems to be a contradiction of contradictions. What am I missing?

Last night was my Back day ~ which always bring the calluses ‘up.’

I pulled some pretty good numbers for me ~~~~
Dead hang Chinups: 15/8/8/6/7
Meadows Rows & Cable Pull Downs with a double D handle (as a superset). 100 lb for the rows 110 lb for the cable pull downs 3x10
Unsupported Barbell Rows: 135 lbs 10x10
Rack Pulls (pins set above knees): 285 3x3
Barbell Shrugs: 225 5x12

Best,
J

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Back double Biceps Picture as of 7-5-2013 ~~~~~~ First back pic I’ve taken in quite awhile. While it’s a tad on the blurry side, I’m pleased.

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Definite progress in the back pic from what I can see, keep it up! Are you competing at the planned contest still?

And the ‘non-steroids’ sound like pro-hormones which from what I hear around and on these boards I wouldn’t go near with a 10ft barge pole. Just my opinion though

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I passed on the original contest ~ I was at my initial target weight (190), but I had not calculated my target weight correctly… Lots of guys on the board said as much, but my diet is a slow mover regardless… i think it mostly works ~ just slowly.

The new contest date is August 10th in Charleston, SC… hopefully. I only say that because the website for that NPC contest is a simple “ad” (scnpc.com) ~ with no links outside of the entry form.

Thanks for the thoughts on the products. I’m a natty, bodybuilder anyway, and was just confused on “what exactly it was they were doing.”

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Less Blurry ~~~~~~

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more blurry - but much better representation of a descent pose- less the arms.

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Whats your diet looking like then with the the zero carbs? How much protein and fats?

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[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
Whats your diet looking like then with the the zero carbs? How much protein and fats?[/quote]

Got on the scale this morning and was at 187.0 lbs ~ so maybe I just needed some time to get things going.

Here is the rough diet macros:

Protein: 51%
Fats: 42%
Carbs: 7%

Cals: 2000
Prot (g): 270g
Fat (g): 100g
Carbs (g): 10g (Celery has carbs, but they say not to count them ~ so I didn’t ~ add 14 if I needed to count them)

I’m using Chicken and celery as my prime meal (4x per day) with 4 protein shakes intermixed.
I did a fasted cardio for 20 minutes this morning. After stating at some point I was stepping up the cardio, I failed to follow through though ~ so this is the first cardio attempt in awhile. How many times do you do your cardio per week?

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You might be consuming more protein than necessary at this stage in your prep, iplan. 270 p is near the top end of an offseason macro breakdown for most natty bb’ers, that’s including a lot of pros and top amateurs. I’m not a big fan of going much below 2,000 calories, but you gotta do what you gotta do…in my opinion, dropping 25 grams of protein would be a good way to cut 100 more calories and would still leave you with plenty of protein to retain lean muscle.

Here’s the way I see it when it comes to your prep at this point: you’re very lean right now, I’m sure an all time best, and you should be very proud! However, you’ve got a little ways to go still to get to competition level conditioning. Especially competing in an NPC show, you will need to outcondition your opponents who will have more mass than you if you want to be competitive. I know your calories are very low already, but if you want to take the next step in your fat loss, you’ll have to decrease further/increase cardio. It’s gonna be tough, but that’s what contest prep is all about. If you don’t increase the urgency of your weight loss, you’re just going to get more and more run down, tired, less motivated, etc, and your body will adjust to your current food intake, if it hasn’t already. The sooner you get comp ready, the sooner you can begin intelligently repairing your metabolism and get to growing.

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Dropped another 1/2 pound today, so I’m at 186.5 lbs ~~~~ I’m past the ‘shock’ of the near zero carb diet, and I’m basiclly doing fine on it.

I was running through my poses after my workout last night, and I noticed the very beginnings of that ‘wicked’ shoulder vascularity! The picture I posted as a description is OBVIOUSLY not me, but it conveys the idea well enough.

In my case, the shoulder vascularity is still slight at this point, but it IS there. Every couple of days I look in the mirror and I think ~ looking more and more like a bodybuilder." I’m exactly 1 month out from contest date today.

As to specifics: I’m debating which class to enter for the contest. This is an NPC contest. The Masters Classification is for competitors over 35, and there is a single weight class for the group. I’m thinking I could easily get “dwarfed” by some really jacked up dudes in that classification.

This fact has me thinking that I might be more competitive in the Men’s Middle Weight Open class (which is from 154.25 - 176.25 lbs). The guys would be younger, but I wouldn’t be going up against a 220 lb Greek Demigod either

If possible, I could enter both classes ~ but I don’t see that option on the Entry Form.

Posing suits have been shipped. It’s getting “real.”

Best,
J

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[quote]iplan wrote:

[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
Whats your diet looking like then with the the zero carbs? How much protein and fats?[/quote]

Got on the scale this morning and was at 187.0 lbs ~ so maybe I just needed some time to get things going.

Here is the rough diet macros:

Protein: 51%
Fats: 42%
Carbs: 7%

Cals: 2000
Prot (g): 270g
Fat (g): 100g
Carbs (g): 10g (Celery has carbs, but they say not to count them ~ so I didn’t ~ add 14 if I needed to count them)

I’m using Chicken and celery as my prime meal (4x per day) with 4 protein shakes intermixed.
I did a fasted cardio for 20 minutes this morning. After stating at some point I was stepping up the cardio, I failed to follow through though ~ so this is the first cardio attempt in awhile. How many times do you do your cardio per week?

[/quote]

Sorry for the late reply.

I would definitely cut protein, like just simply take one or two shakes out of your diet. You are still losing weight it seems but I don’t know if you will get into the right shape during the time you have left.

I try and do some form of cardio everyday, either 20 mins of HIT or 30-45mins of steady state.

EDIT:

I hate to plug it so much but I do love the diet and still use it as my own template but look up the Get Shredded Diet. You will start off at 150kcal below you intake right now which is a great place to start.

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[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:

[quote]iplan wrote:

[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
Whats your diet looking like then with the the zero carbs? How much protein and fats?[/quote]

Got on the scale this morning and was at 187.0 lbs ~ so maybe I just needed some time to get things going.

Here is the rough diet macros:

Protein: 51%
Fats: 42%
Carbs: 7%

Cals: 2000
Prot (g): 270g
Fat (g): 100g
Carbs (g): 10g (Celery has carbs, but they say not to count them ~ so I didn’t ~ add 14 if I needed to count them)

I’m using Chicken and celery as my prime meal (4x per day) with 4 protein shakes intermixed.
I did a fasted cardio for 20 minutes this morning. After stating at some point I was stepping up the cardio, I failed to follow through though ~ so this is the first cardio attempt in awhile. How many times do you do your cardio per week?

[/quote]

Sorry for the late reply.

I would definitely cut protein, like just simply take one or two shakes out of your diet. You are still losing weight it seems but I don’t know if you will get into the right shape during the time you have left.

I try and do some form of cardio everyday, either 20 mins of HIT or 30-45mins of steady state.

EDIT:

I hate to plug it so much but I do love the diet and still use it as my own template but look up the Get Shredded Diet. You will start off at 150kcal below you intake right now which is a great place to start.[/quote]

Rattlehead: How long do you wait before you eat after your fasted cardio?