I just did my first contest on saturday and I’m working on uploading the pictures. I’m trying to get an idea where you guys think my weakest points are. I’ll try to post as many shots as I can but I’m having a tough time finding a decent back shot.
About me:
I’m 25, have been training since high school but training more seriously for about 4 years. In the last few years I’ve been doing set programs usually for about 4-6 weeks then switching. I have done GVT once the last 2 years. Another program I did was ABBH 2. When I’m not doing a set program from someone else I like to do a 5 day split in this order: Legs, Chest, Back, Shoulders, Direct Arm.
Here are my stats before I began dieting for the contest:
Weight: 172
Height: 5’8"
1RM
Flat Bench: 275
Deadlift: 385
Squat: 305
for this contest I did Berardi’s “Get Shredded Diet” strictly for 12 weeks which was very very difficult but the results were good. My conditioning for the show was good but I lacked the mass of other competitors. I was about 153 lbs. at the show and I came in 5th place in the novice division.
additionally for the final week before the contest I used CT and Shugarts “shredded in 6 days” to lose my water which worked well. I may look a little smooth since all the photos are from the night show and I had about 20 ounces of gatorade and lunch between the pre-judging and night show.
hmmmm…well i give you credit for getting up there as i never would. and i really don’t want to come off as a jerk but i can’t really say i’m too impressed with your overall physique. i think 4 years of serious training should have yeilded more size and quality muscle. again i am not intending to be mean or derogatory. my starements are purely objective in nature and i hope they encourage you to work even harder.
[quote]1morerep wrote:
hmmmm…well i give you credit for getting up there as i never would. and i really don’t want to come off as a jerk but i can’t really say i’m too impressed with your overall physique. i think 4 years of serious training should have yeilded more size and quality muscle. again i am not intending to be mean or derogatory. my starements are purely objective in nature and i hope they encourage you to work even harder. [/quote]
I agree with this. It doesn’t look like you are big enough to start competing just yet.
[quote]1morerep wrote:
hmmmm…well i give you credit for getting up there as i never would. and i really don’t want to come off as a jerk but i can’t really say i’m too impressed with your overall physique. i think 4 years of serious training should have yeilded more size and quality muscle. again i am not intending to be mean or derogatory. my starements are purely objective in nature and i hope they encourage you to work even harder. [/quote]
I don’t think you can formulate how much size someone cold/should have after 4 years of training. There re too many factors to be considered. Genetics ie bodytype etc. I have a relative that doesn’t work out and looks comparable to most guys that have been training for about a year or so, he has a six pack and all. If he lifted for 4 years his results would be off the charts. Not trying to dispute you or argue, but I just find it weird that there’s a timeline for how big somebody should/could be.
yeah i agree that I need more mass to improve as a competitor that became obvious to me on saturday. I wanted to make sure I got to the low body fat level that is necessary and I probably dieted off too much muscle as a result. It was my first time and I found that balance of losing fat and retaining muscle to be challenging, but I did learn from it.
My plan for now is to eat a bulk diet without too much garbage and work to build mass and get to some new bodyweight and lift numbers. I am going to try DC training now while I bulk.
I would like to compete again in 2 years and use a different diet. Berardi’s GSD may not have enough protein in my opinion nor healthy carbs eg. oats and sweet potatoes.
Well at least you got the first time jitters out of the way. You are only going to get bigger and better with time. Cant wait for my first competition in november.
I’m not very good at presenting to a large group. Even given the luxury of wearing a suit. Oiled up in posing trunks? Yikes!!
Anyway, great job. You gained experience in competing…cutting by a deadline…etc…which will be beneficial the next time you compete. You’ve acknowledged your shortcomings and mistakes, and I’m sure you’ll learn from them.
I’ve never gotten down to competition-level bodyfat, so I’m not going to pretend to be able to give you advice about that, but I’d pretty much have to echo some of the above comments…you need more mass next time.
Incidentally, how did that water-manipulation trick, “Shredded in 6 days”, work for you? Were there visible results?
[quote]PimpBot5000 wrote:
You’ve got guts going up on stage.
I’m not very good at presenting to a large group. Even given the luxury of wearing a suit. Oiled up in posing trunks? Yikes!!
Anyway, great job. You gained experience in competing…cutting by a deadline…etc…which will be beneficial the next time you compete. You’ve acknowledged your shortcomings and mistakes, and I’m sure you’ll learn from them.
I’ve never gotten down to competition-level bodyfat, so I’m not going to pretend to be able to give you advice about that, but I’d pretty much have to echo some of the above comments…you need more mass next time.
Incidentally, how did that water-manipulation trick, “Shredded in 6 days”, work for you? Were there visible results? [/quote]
I’d say it worked very well, unfortunately I do not have pictures from the pre-judging but I was dryer. The glycerine seemed to work well bringing out vascularity which by the way tastes awful. Drinking 3 gallons Mon- thursday was annoying too because you’re pissing all day which makes commuting difficult. I was surprised how much I wanted water when I was eating my meals without it after it was cut friday.
You look better than the casual bodybuilder but I don’t think your big enough for contest shape. You look good though as I don’t have enough size to compete either nor do I want to. I commend you for getting on stage and keep up the good work. Best of luck
Yeah, definitely props for stepping up there, but 153 lbs at 5’8 is not an impressive stat. Still, you realize you’re just starting out, so you’re ahead of the game mentally.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Yeah, definitely props for stepping up there, but 153 lbs at 5’8 is not an impressive stat. Still, you realize you’re just starting out, so you’re ahead of the game mentally.
S
[/quote]
i still say weight is just a number. i’m 5’7 and if i managed to get as lean as the OP, i’d probably weigh around 153 myself. it’s just the way my body is that makes me appear much bigger. and the reverse occurs as well. i’m always seeing guys posting on here who outweigh me by as much as 25 lbs and look like they’ve only been working out for 6 months. weight is meaningless for the most part.
[quote]1morerep wrote:
The Mighty Stu wrote:
Yeah, definitely props for stepping up there, but 153 lbs at 5’8 is not an impressive stat. Still, you realize you’re just starting out, so you’re ahead of the game mentally.
S
i still say weight is just a number. i’m 5’7 and if i managed to get as lean as the OP, i’d probably weigh around 153 myself. it’s just the way my body is that makes me appear much bigger. and the reverse occurs as well. i’m always seeing guys posting on here who outweigh me by as much as 25 lbs and look like they’ve only been working out for 6 months. weight is meaningless for the most part.[/quote]
Agreed, I was only 205-208 at 6’1" when I won two shows. I beat out guys that were weighing 230. It also, depends on the show.
I’m certainly not bashing on the OP, and in most regards, yes, I agree that weight is just a number, but in this case, he must compare himself with others at the top of his class who have similar stats (heights?), and even in the pics, you can see the arms are lagging behind the torso in terms of development.
His starting weight was only 172, and while I truly applaud the conditioning achieved, he needs more lbm, as he already realizes.
I’ve recently dropped from about 205/210 to 194, and yes, I keep hearing how much bigger I look. Again, bodybuilding is the ultimate illusion, but as I’m realizing in my own progress, when you buckle the hatches and diet down, you may be shocked at how little muscle you actually have.
And Pesty, 205 lbs in contest condition is a great feat. My training partner is 6’3, and at 2 bills shows ‘some’ abs (and his upper torso is pretty solid). I wouldn’t refer to your conditioning as weighing “ONLY” 205 -lol.
I believe I dieted off too much muscle in prep for this contest. If any of you have read John Berardi’s Get Shredded Diet it calls for low caloric intake and in retrospect was probably not the best choice for me. This diet eliminates completely carbs such as sweet potatoes, oats, fruit except for on refeed days which only come once every 2 weeks.
I have heard from people I know who compete that the first time you diet strictly for a contest you lose more muscle than you will if you do it again. Have any of you had this experience?
Also I started a serious bulk and I think I look alot better than on contest day, smooth obviously but alot bigger and less depleted, bodyweight jumped too. I Started “Doggcrapp training” to coincide with my bulking. I shouldn’t have much problem beating my book for awhile since my bodyweight will climb steadily each week. My appetite has been very strong, more so than before I began my diet.
[quote]mjc381 wrote:
I believe I dieted off too much muscle in prep for this contest. If any of you have read John Berardi’s Get Shredded Diet it calls for low caloric intake and in retrospect was probably not the best choice for me. [/quote]
Well, you are going to lose a ton of lean mass getting in condition as a natural anyway. Most important is your off season size and shape…if you have enough size off season and its not your first time sub zero , the LBM loss will not affect your contest look all that much, unless you screw up really badly. I’ll go out on a alimb and say it wasn;t the GSD that screwed up, but a couple more years holding your off season bulk would have given you a better look onstage. Plus the longer you hold your lean mass, the more you retain in condition (muscle maturity etc)
