First Contest ~ My Prep Log

Training
141

[quote]iplan wrote:

[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?
[/quote]

All depends on my schedule really, sometimes it can be as much as 2-3 hours because I do IF or it can be as little as 15 mins if I have been working all morning.

142

Definitely progress being made in the new back pictures.

Also, Stu and Pwolves gave some good advice.

143

Tim: Thanks for the feedback. The progress has taken me a lot longer to see than I ever expected, but after really stumbling out of the gate, I think I’m finally “thinking” like a body builder, as opposed to a guy that “lifts weights” who decides to do a contest and shows up in really questionable condition.

Update: Today, I received my posing trunks from CherryBombs.net I had an idea of “how” small they’d be… I greatly “overestimated.” Those things are TINY! On the positive side, my wife had a good laugh. I guess posing trunks are like a “bride’s maid gown in a sense:” ~ they don’t really have many uses after the contest.

As to lifting:

Yesterday was Back “Heavy.” It was intense.
Supersetted Chinups with Double D Handle Cable Pull Downs 5 sets max
(then did a burn out set on the D Handle Cable Pull Downs) ~~~ had a great pump at this point.
1 Arm DB Rows 3 sets of 12
Barbell Rows 5 sets of 10 (lost my pump here, but I was pretty much burnt up anyway)
Rack Pulls 3 sets of 3
Shrugs: 3 sets max

Really felt the lats fatigue from top to bottom. It was nice. My arms, above and below the elbow are sore ~ from the rack pulls (where I notched a new 3 rep PR).

I did 30 minutes of Fasted Cardio at 130 BPM this morning, and JM’s Reactive Pump (Chest & Shoulders ~ Pump) tonight.

This is the second fasted cardio I’ve done this week ~ which is a new twist.

I’ve also switched out chicken for Talipia as my protein source.

I’ve also cut my protein supplement intake.

Beginning today, I’ve lowered by calories, and am now planning on 1800ckals

I’m hoping these changes will accelerate my weight loss these last few weeks. It’d be great if I can squeak in under the 176.25 limit for the Open Middle Weight, otherwise I’ll be in the Single Weight Class Masters Open.

Best,
J

144

[quote]iplan wrote:
Tim: Thanks for the feedback. The progress has taken me a lot longer to see than I ever expected, but after really stumbling out of the gate, I think I’m finally “thinking” like a body builder, as opposed to a guy that “lifts weights” who decides to do a contest and shows up in really questionable condition.

Update: Today, I received my trunks from CherryBomb.com I had an idea of “how” small they’d be… I greatly “overestimated.” Those things are TINY! On the positive side, my wife had a good laugh. I guess posing trunks are like a “bride’s maid gown in a sense:” ~ they don’t really have many uses after the contest.

As to lifting:

Yesterday was Back “Heavy.” It was intense.
Supersetted Chinups with Double D Handle Cable Pull Downs 5 sets max
(then did a burn out set on the D Handle Cable Pull Downs) ~~~ had a great pump at this point.
1 Arm DB Rows 3 sets of 12
Barbell Rows 5 sets of 10 (lost my pump here, but I was pretty much burnt up anyway)
Rack Pulls 3 sets of 3
Shrugs: 3 sets max

Really felt the lats fatigue from top to bottom. It was nice. My arms, above and below the elbow are sore ~ from the rack pulls (where I notched a new 3 rep PR).

I did 30 minutes of Fasted Cardio at 130 BPM this morning, and JM’s Reactive Pump (Chest & Shoulders ~ Pump) tonight.

This is the second fasted cardio I’ve done this week ~ which is a new twist.

I’ve also switched out chicken for Talipia as my protein source.

I’ve also cut my protein supplement intake.

Beginning today, I’ve lowered by calories, and am now planning on 1800ckals

I’m hoping these changes will accelerate my weight loss these last few weeks. It’d be great if I can squeak in under the 176.25 limit for the Open Middle Weight, otherwise I’ll be in the Single Weight Class Masters Open.

Best,
J
[/quote]

I think that you should compete in the Masters class regardless of what you weigh on the day of the show

145

[quote]pwolves17 wrote:

[quote]iplan wrote:
Tim: Thanks for the feedback. The progress has taken me a lot longer to see than I ever expected, but after really stumbling out of the gate, I think I’m finally “thinking” like a body builder, as opposed to a guy that “lifts weights” who decides to do a contest and shows up in really questionable condition.

Update: Today, I received my trunks from CherryBomb.com I had an idea of “how” small they’d be… I greatly “overestimated.” Those things are TINY! On the positive side, my wife had a good laugh. I guess posing trunks are like a “bride’s maid gown in a sense:” ~ they don’t really have many uses after the contest.

As to lifting:

Yesterday was Back “Heavy.” It was intense.
Supersetted Chinups with Double D Handle Cable Pull Downs 5 sets max
(then did a burn out set on the D Handle Cable Pull Downs) ~~~ had a great pump at this point.
1 Arm DB Rows 3 sets of 12
Barbell Rows 5 sets of 10 (lost my pump here, but I was pretty much burnt up anyway)
Rack Pulls 3 sets of 3
Shrugs: 3 sets max

Really felt the lats fatigue from top to bottom. It was nice. My arms, above and below the elbow are sore ~ from the rack pulls (where I notched a new 3 rep PR).

I did 30 minutes of Fasted Cardio at 130 BPM this morning, and JM’s Reactive Pump (Chest & Shoulders ~ Pump) tonight.

This is the second fasted cardio I’ve done this week ~ which is a new twist.

I’ve also switched out chicken for Talipia as my protein source.

I’ve also cut my protein supplement intake.

Beginning today, I’ve lowered by calories, and am now planning on 1800ckals

I’m hoping these changes will accelerate my weight loss these last few weeks. It’d be great if I can squeak in under the 176.25 limit for the Open Middle Weight, otherwise I’ll be in the Single Weight Class Masters Open.

Best,
J
[/quote]

I think that you should compete in the Masters class regardless of what you weigh on the day of the show
[/quote]

Just curious, but is there a particular reason why you think competing in an open weight class masters category would be better than competing in Open Middle Weight with a cut off at 176.25 lb?

146

[quote]iplan wrote:

[quote]pwolves17 wrote:

[quote]iplan wrote:
Tim: Thanks for the feedback. The progress has taken me a lot longer to see than I ever expected, but after really stumbling out of the gate, I think I’m finally “thinking” like a body builder, as opposed to a guy that “lifts weights” who decides to do a contest and shows up in really questionable condition.

Update: Today, I received my trunks from CherryBomb.com I had an idea of “how” small they’d be… I greatly “overestimated.” Those things are TINY! On the positive side, my wife had a good laugh. I guess posing trunks are like a “bride’s maid gown in a sense:” ~ they don’t really have many uses after the contest.

As to lifting:

Yesterday was Back “Heavy.” It was intense.
Supersetted Chinups with Double D Handle Cable Pull Downs 5 sets max
(then did a burn out set on the D Handle Cable Pull Downs) ~~~ had a great pump at this point.
1 Arm DB Rows 3 sets of 12
Barbell Rows 5 sets of 10 (lost my pump here, but I was pretty much burnt up anyway)
Rack Pulls 3 sets of 3
Shrugs: 3 sets max

Really felt the lats fatigue from top to bottom. It was nice. My arms, above and below the elbow are sore ~ from the rack pulls (where I notched a new 3 rep PR).

I did 30 minutes of Fasted Cardio at 130 BPM this morning, and JM’s Reactive Pump (Chest & Shoulders ~ Pump) tonight.

This is the second fasted cardio I’ve done this week ~ which is a new twist.

I’ve also switched out chicken for Talipia as my protein source.

I’ve also cut my protein supplement intake.

Beginning today, I’ve lowered by calories, and am now planning on 1800ckals

I’m hoping these changes will accelerate my weight loss these last few weeks. It’d be great if I can squeak in under the 176.25 limit for the Open Middle Weight, otherwise I’ll be in the Single Weight Class Masters Open.

Best,
J
[/quote]

I think that you should compete in the Masters class regardless of what you weigh on the day of the show
[/quote]

Just curious, but is there a particular reason why you think competing in an open weight class masters category would be better than competing in Open Middle Weight with a cut off at 176.25 lb?
[/quote]

open middleweights will be a stacked class with some beasts in it, especially at an NPC show. I think the master’s class would be a better fit for your first competition

147

[quote]pwolves17 wrote:

[quote]iplan wrote:

[quote]pwolves17 wrote:

[quote]iplan wrote:
Tim: Thanks for the feedback. The progress has taken me a lot longer to see than I ever expected, but after really stumbling out of the gate, I think I’m finally “thinking” like a body builder, as opposed to a guy that “lifts weights” who decides to do a contest and shows up in really questionable condition.

Update: Today, I received my trunks from CherryBomb.com I had an idea of “how” small they’d be… I greatly “overestimated.” Those things are TINY! On the positive side, my wife had a good laugh. I guess posing trunks are like a “bride’s maid gown in a sense:” ~ they don’t really have many uses after the contest.

As to lifting:

Yesterday was Back “Heavy.” It was intense.
Supersetted Chinups with Double D Handle Cable Pull Downs 5 sets max
(then did a burn out set on the D Handle Cable Pull Downs) ~~~ had a great pump at this point.
1 Arm DB Rows 3 sets of 12
Barbell Rows 5 sets of 10 (lost my pump here, but I was pretty much burnt up anyway)
Rack Pulls 3 sets of 3
Shrugs: 3 sets max

Really felt the lats fatigue from top to bottom. It was nice. My arms, above and below the elbow are sore ~ from the rack pulls (where I notched a new 3 rep PR).

I did 30 minutes of Fasted Cardio at 130 BPM this morning, and JM’s Reactive Pump (Chest & Shoulders ~ Pump) tonight.

This is the second fasted cardio I’ve done this week ~ which is a new twist.

I’ve also switched out chicken for Talipia as my protein source.

I’ve also cut my protein supplement intake.

Beginning today, I’ve lowered by calories, and am now planning on 1800ckals

I’m hoping these changes will accelerate my weight loss these last few weeks. It’d be great if I can squeak in under the 176.25 limit for the Open Middle Weight, otherwise I’ll be in the Single Weight Class Masters Open.

Best,
J
[/quote]

I think that you should compete in the Masters class regardless of what you weigh on the day of the show
[/quote]

Just curious, but is there a particular reason why you think competing in an open weight class masters category would be better than competing in Open Middle Weight with a cut off at 176.25 lb?
[/quote]

open middleweights will be a stacked class with some beasts in it, especially at an NPC show. I think the master’s class would be a better fit for your first competition[/quote]

Yeah, but what about the 220 lb bodybuilder that is 35 years old and has been on gear for the last 15 years? He’ll be in the Masters field also…

Probably the safest classification is the Men’s Novice Class. I guess I could enter that field, but I really would rather not ~ because it looks like a few of the people in that field on any given night are not all that serious. In fact, a couple of these guys look like they woke up Saturday morning and decided to enter the contest to check off an item on a bucket list…

I’ve attached a video from the Novice Classification from 2010 (same contest) to give you an idea ~ the guy second from the right at 31 seconds stands out as an example of what I’m talking about. Even though I may be more competitive with this group, I’m not sure I’d want to stand with that group of guys.

That said, I imagine that the guys in the Open Middleweight and the Masters would have the same things to say about me as well…

My wife thinks I should do it (compete in the Novice Classification) ~ you know, “pay your dues,” this is your first contest, and all that. I’m not sure. Suggestions?

148

Scale read 184.8 lb this morning.

Last night was legs.

Back Squats: 8x6 + 2 burnout sets
Front Squats: 2x10
Stiff Legged Dead Lifts: 10x10
Calves: 3 sets max

Rest day today, but I will be doing some activity, as a tree fell in my yard the night before last, and needs to be hauled away.

Best,
J

149

Officially 20 days out from the contest.

Last week, I think my high workout volume began to catch up with me. I’ve been very tired throughout the day. Some days I actually took 2 naps! Calories still in the 1800 range (w/ the low carb diet). Hovering at the 184 lb range…

For legs last week, I did 23 sets. This workout was Tuesday, and I was sore all the way to Saturday.

I’m only doing about 15 sets for Chest. Ditto for Back.

I think I’m going to enter the Novice Men & Masters Men divisions. Depending on what the competition looks like at the weigh-in, I may just do the Novice.

150

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First mankini poses ~~~~~ my wife and I could barely stop laughing long enough to take these things…

From this shot (taken 7/17). I think I’m ideally about 6-7 weeks out. The contest is in 20 days though…

Besides the sun washing out a lot of little cuts, this was the first round of pictures without the mirror as a reference point. It turns out my anchor points were all visual ~~~~ so I’m having to relearn what the best pose “feels” like ~~~~~

Man this is a challenging sport.

151

Do you have more poses so we can give you pointers?

Your back double bicep looks pretty solid though.

A few things you can do to make it a bit better;

  1. Spread the legs out just a little further so you can pull in more, this will fire the hamstrings nicely.
  2. Raise up elbows a tad, that will fill in the gap between the arms and head and also make th biceps appear bigger/higher.
152

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[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:
Do you have more poses so we can give you pointers?

Your back double bicep looks pretty solid though.

A few things you can do to make it a bit better;

  1. Spread the legs out just a little further so you can pull in more, this will fire the hamstrings nicely.
  2. Raise up elbows a tad, that will fill in the gap between the arms and head and also make th biceps appear bigger/higher.[/quote]

Okay ~~~ I’m going to do all those things per your recommendation on the Back Double Bi ~ which seems to be my ‘best’ pose at the moment!

On 7/17, I took pictures of all of the semmetry poses and most of the mandatory poses. They were all generally ridiculously terrible. It was a great learning experience though.

It was the first time I had ever posed in the suit ~ not to mention that I was outside in my back yard. My anchor points were all visual (mirror feedback) ~ and I just couldn’t get what is there to come out without the mirror feedback. On top of that, about 4 of my neighbors drove by trying to figure out why I was standing in my back yard in my underwear, my wife was pretty patient, she was standing in the sun, and it was really hot, etc.

Besides that Back Double Biceps pose, the only other one that came out somewhat okay was my Right Side Triceps (but there are many problems with it):

  1. I didn’t have my legs smashed together,
  2. I was not deep enough to get my hamstring to really hang,
  3. My upper body was not tilted toward the camera.

I’ve attached it to see if there are any other faults I have missed.

Right now, the most difficult pose for me is the Side Chest. I worked on it for 10 minutes last night and made a little progress.

153

In addition to the other advise on the side tricep, try to take in a little more air and get the chest higher, it will look a bit thicker.

154

[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:
In addition to the other advise on the side tricep, try to take in a little more air and get the chest higher, it will look a bit thicker. [/quote]

Tim ~ Thanks for the feedback. For clarification purposes: I thought side triceps was a triceps/abs/hamstring kind of pose. Are you saying it’s more of a triceps/chest/hamstring ~ or are you trying to strike the best of both worlds and hit more chest and keep the abs also(eg: triceps/chest/abs/hamstrings)?

Update on weight loss: I clocked in at 183.4 lbs today. I halved my daily natural p-nut butter intake and replaced it with horse radish sauce. It’s not nearly as fun, but it’s nearly calorie free.

My diet looks like this at the moment:

2 eggs
1 beef hotdog
3 talipia fillets
4 tbs of natural p-nut butter
2 protein shakes
lots of cellery
lots of green beans
lots of water

155

Trying to strike the best of both worlds.
If you try it, you will find it isn’t too hard to hold the chest up but still contract the serratus and abdominals. Best of luck.

156

[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:
Trying to strike the best of both worlds.
If you try it, you will find it isn’t too hard to hold the chest up but still contract the serratus and abdominals. Best of luck.[/quote]

Got it! Thanks!

157

Alright ~~~ well, the tan continues to come in, and I’ve been working on my posing. My wife (and official photographer) has been out of town all week, but I hope to get a complete round of all the symmetry and mandatory poses up for evaluation by early next week.

Today was Chest & Shoulders (Pump) ~~~ John Meadows’ fantastic protocol if you follow it. I’ve been sticking with the First 2 week protocol (I think it’s that one), because I have the ability to perform all the the exercises in that grouping (no leg press here). I also love the “over and backs” with the therabands. They are as good a physical therapy exercise for my shoulders as I’ve experienced, and the fact that he ties them into the workout is a big plus in my mind.

Weight is holding at 183 lbs. BF seems to be somewhere between 9-10% according to the calipers. Assuming they’re accurate (which might be a big assumption) I thought I’d be a little lower in BF… Oh well.

Best,
J

158

Well, last cheat meal was yesterday… My peak week is going to be a straight continuation of my diet ~ since I’m not going to be lean enough ~ with a refeed meal on Friday after weigh-in & polygraph. I AM doing the INBF show instead of the NPC show August 10. After the 10th, I’ll continue the diet, and the plan is to compete in the NPC show Sep 7.

The schedule for the last two weeks before the August 10 show looks like this:
(Please feel free to comment ~~~ I just figured I’d throw something out there and look for feedback). I got the idea of “doing nothing special” from a youtube video by 3dmusclejourney.com ~~~ as my real target is the Sep 7 show.

2 Weeks Out:
Monday: Chest & Shoulders (heavy) ~ pm
Tuesday: Cardio ~ am / Back (heavy) ~ pm
Wednesday: Cardio ~ am
Thursday: Legs (heavy) ~ pm
Friday: Cardio ~ am / Chest & Shouders (pump) ~ pm
Saturday: Cardio ~ am / Arms (pump) ~ pm
Sunday: Cardio ~ am

Peak Week:
Monday: Legs (Heavy) ~ pm
Tuesday: Chest & Shoulders (Heavy) ~ pm
Wednesday: Cardio ~ am
Thursday: Back (Heavy) ~ pm
Friday: Arms (pump) ~ am

  • Posing practice each day.
159

“Doing nothing special” is a fine strategy. Layne Norton also has a nice write up about peak week, he has a very conservative approach.

Only word of caution would be to not get the legs too sore from Monday’s last heavy leg day. Too much inflamation will blur definition, it can happen with other muscle groups as well, but it seems to be really easy to do to legs.

160

[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:
“Doing nothing special” is a fine strategy. Layne Norton also has a nice write up about peak week, he has a very conservative approach.

Only word of caution would be to not get the legs too sore from Monday’s last heavy leg day. Too much inflamation will blur definition, it can happen with other muscle groups as well, but it seems to be really easy to do to legs.[/quote]

Definitely agree with this, the legs are the one muscle group that doesn’t look better pumped. I haven’t used the method myself, but some BB’ers advocate performing eccentricless (sp?) training during peak week, as the lowering of the weight is the part of the movement typically associated with “muscle tearing” and the microscopic damage caused by weight training.