(Mighty) Stu Yellin, WNBF Pro Updates n Q&A

Training
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So I’m now doing a slight amount of chest work. Obviously my main focus is, and will be for some time, simply squeezing the muscles and getting some blood in there. Still, feeling the slight bit of muscle soreness yesterday for the first time since last Summer was wonderful indeed.

At the suggestion of my brother, I made use of a seated chest press machine at the gym that allows me to set a pin and limit how deep of a stretch I can get at the ‘bottom’ portion of the movement. Definitely going to be the cornerstone of my chest sessions the next few months.

Also, even though my shoulder and back limitations have given me slight moments of concern as to whether I’ll ever fill out my former XL T-shirt stretching dimensions again, the frequent performance of front raises and laterals (3x each week) has indeed allowed me to regain some degree of noticeable roundness of my shoulders.

In taking an appraisal of my physique this morning (after hitting hams, calves, and triceps), I explained to Cat that even though the real problem with my future training may revolve around pressing work, I’m feeling fairly confident that I’ll certainly be able to get my arms, legs, and to a major degree back won’t be a problem given sufficient time under the weights. Nice to feel confident. Definitely having my swing of emotions with this nonsense.

As an aside, I’ve talked Cat into getting back on here each week and keeping a log of her contest preps. She’s currently 3 weeks in, and gunning for a show in May and June. It’s been a while since she logged on, so having forgotten her password, we’re waiting on the Mods to email her some help (we couldn’t reset it after many attempts).

I’m sure she’ll find some time over the next couple of days. I told her that since I’m not the target of a prep this year, we’ll make sure to get a lot of photos and videos of her training. Definitely a role reversal in our little family.

S

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Great attitude Stu!!

YES!!! looking forward to Cats crusade …hoping she is comfortable posting the “before” pics.

This has got to be so rewarding for you as well. She is SO lucky.

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Nice! I would follow along for sure too! :slight_smile:

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So I had what I initially thought might be a slight set back this past Tuesday, but things seem to be working themselves out for the most part.

Since my therapies have begun involving resistance based shoulder work, I’ve taken my time in not rushing to increase the weights used. Still, I’ve noticed that the rear portion, where the majority of my injury occurred, has seemed to lag a bit in relation to the rest of the area. It has been primarily in any rear-lateral type movement where I have noticed a slight ‘hitch’ in the normally fluid motion, with a slight degree of discomfort as well.

This past Tuesday, already into my PT session, I was performing YTW’s laying prone on a swiss ball. Even before my surgery, this was an awkward movement for me - not the ‘Y’, but some of the ‘T’ and definitely the ‘W’. When I commented to Jess (my PT) that I always experienced some problem with the exercise, specifically for ‘T’ portion, she told me to focus more on using the entire area together, as opposed to the approach I had adopted over the years to suit my bodybuilding purposes (specifically nailing the posterior delt head). Well, as I consciously retracted my scapulae and began the motion, I felt (and heard!) a horrible tearing sensation in my left shoulder.

After dropping the weight (fearing the worst), Jess put me through a battery of manual tests to assess what, if anything had just happened. Despite a bit of soreness, it seemed that nothing bad really did. My cuff was fine, my humeral head was still not sliding smoothly (part of the surgery-rehab process though, gonna be a while I know), but whatever had freaked me out was most likely either scar tissue related, or simply muscular in nature.

We addressed the issue with manual work, laser, ultrasound, etc, and I made a mental note to observe how my everyday activities felt the next couple of days. When Thursday came, despite a small degree of lingering soreness, everything seemed okay. Obviously we skipped a few exercises that we thought might have put unnecessary stress on the area.

Couple this with a lower back strain I experienced over the weekend (bending down to leash up my dog! What the hell?! I’m falling apart over here -lol), and I approached everything at PT last night very cautiously.

The way I figure it, due to relative inactivity with the majority of my body the previous several months, typical compound body movements might be the situation to notice the glaring atrophy (or simple detraining) that has occurred. I’m definitely going to have to be extra careful for a while still.

The one nice thing, which I’m keeping in mind, is that it’s just about February. By March my brother says I can adopt more of a traditional training split. Obviously I won’t be hitting chest hard and heavy by itself like I used to, but at least I’ll feel more on my own in terms of getting back to where I want to be. Sure rehab will still be the main goal, but I’m sure to feel much more like a bodybuilder again, which puts a big grin on my face.

S

65

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

That old quote of mine, the “everyone should diet down at least once” one, I still hold by that. It’s a sobering experience for a lot of people who think they’re a lot bigger than they are. Of course I’m not suggesting this as a reason to take people down a peg or two, but to give a true education on just how much muscle, in the absence of excess adipose tissue, can really seem impressive.
[/quote]

Yup. Very very true. Looking bigger with your shirt off and smaller with it on. I started out thinking I could get lean losing 20-30 pounds. 50 pounds later, I’m still not quite there…

66

Hey man… I haven’t contacted you directly in a while. I’ve been following along though and I just wanted to wish you continued luck and success with your rehabilitation.

What you’re dealing with is every gym rat’s nightmare and I really hope you can come back strong.

67

So as of the end of this week, it will be 20 weeks post surgery. I’m not sure what I actually expcted at this point, but while I’m not completely crippled, I’m not fully ready to rock either. My weights on certain exercises has certain gone up (while not at all on others). However, there is still a certain degree of pain when in PT, when training, even when sleeping. Actually, I have gotten very careful when sleeping as I’m not 100% certain how to position my arm where it not only won’t hurt, but won’t be contributing to problems 10 years from now.

I guess I bounce back and forth mentally from the “let’s push and get back” mindset, and the “take it easy tough guy, this was some serious sh-t you just went through and you don’t wanna be a crippled later just so you can look good now.”

When I chatted with my brother last night, and told him the weights I was using, he told me “Don’t worry, it’s not even a year yet.” Which reinforces my initial outlook of not really sweating anything, or looking at how much I’m close to being my former self until much later down the road.

The plan was to have me in PT for another month (6 months total), and then in March resume a closer to a bodybuilder type gym routine.

In the meantime, I’m trying to put most of my focus not only on my clients, but on my wife’s competition plans. In addition to her day job, she has a part time nigh gig at a local college, is taking grad classes, and does her damndest to get over to her parents’ house to visit her dog. Suffice to say, she’s always sleep deprived, and watching her in the morning makes me wonder just how the hell I was able to do what I did preparing for contests over so many years.

Definitely thanks for all the support I’ve gotten on here. I know it’s probably a hell of a lot cooler watching me throw crazy weights in training vids, or put up weekly pics as new veins and striations appear than hearing me whine about my injury. Still, I’ll continue to share my experiences in this sport as best as I can. I’ll be behind the ‘big table’ at 2 INBF shows this coming April (The NE America, and the Mr America), so that should make for an interesting report :slight_smile:

S

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You have been a huge inspiration to me and deciding to compete was strongly influenced by reading your contest threads. Most people, at some point, will have to go through some kind of setback. Bodybuilding day to day is about perseverance and to be able to follow you through the ups and downs gives a real “raw” look at the lifestyle and what the body is capable of. You are definitely a pro in every sense of the word and I wish you the best of luck in your recovery.

69

[quote]super saiyan wrote:
Stu, you’ve probably addressed this before, but how do you adjust workout volume and intensity when dieting? [/quote]

I think I just answered this on another thread, but as I try to get to everything here (eventually), lemme give a little summary.

My approach is pretty straightforward:

-I don’t typically train to failure, so I’m used to avoiding unnecessary fatigue. I stimulate growth, and avoid running myself down. I practice this during preps, and during my off season work.

-I don’t change sets, reps, anything really in terms of performance. I MIGHT find myself needing a little more rest between sets, but that’s to be expected sometimes when dieting. So the volume is pretty consistent for the most part (except for the odd day that I’m really dragging), but the amount of time spent in the gym may be a bit more.

-I always keep my weights where they are in the off season. Thinking that you need to use lighter weights is a great way to lose muscle, especially in a caloric deficit.

-I target my nutrition to allow for the most productive training sessions possible. This plays a large part in how I can retain so much size even when dieting down to Middleweight class.

-Smart use of carbs ensures that I don’t really suffer any loss of intensity in the gym. Well, that and a serious kick ass playlist on my IPhone :slight_smile:

-I Also manage my cardio sessions. Even though I’m a big fan of interval work for the majority of it, I realize that it can be very taxing, and must be used strategically.

S

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[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]super saiyan wrote:
Stu, you’ve probably addressed this before, but how do you adjust workout volume and intensity when dieting? [/quote]

I think I just answered this on another thread, but as I try to get to everything here (eventually), lemme give a little summary.

My approach is pretty straightforward:

-I don’t typically train to failure, so I’m used to avoiding unnecessary fatigue. I stimulate growth, and avoid running myself down. I practice this during preps, and during my off season work.

-I don’t change sets, reps, anything really in terms of performance. I MIGHT find myself needing a little more rest between sets, but that’s to be expected sometimes when dieting. So the volume is pretty consistent for the most part (except for the odd day that I’m really dragging), but the amount of time spent in the gym may be a bit more.

-I always keep my weights where they are in the off season. Thinking that you need to use lighter weights is a great way to lose muscle, especially in a caloric deficit.

-I target my nutrition to allow for the most productive training sessions possible. This plays a large part in how I can retain so much size even when dieting down to Middleweight class.

-Smart use of carbs ensures that I don’t really suffer any loss of intensity in the gym. Well, that and a serious kick ass playlist on my IPhone :slight_smile:

-I Also manage my cardio sessions. Even though I’m a big fan of interval work for the majority of it, I realize that it can be very taxing, and must be used strategically.

S[/quote]

Thanks!

71

So the other night at PT, we employed a fun little way to really hit all the small stabilizers in my shoulders. Taking a couple of thin, albeit very strong bands, we hung two ~25 lbs kettlebells on the ends of a barbell positioned on the flat bench. As I pressed the bar up and down the kettlebells suspended created a very unstable resistance. Suffice to say, while the muscular strength needed to move the bar wasn’t an issue, maintaining the bar in a consistent path most certainly was. Quite an ordeal for all the tiny little muscles you never really think about.

Something that was said and really bothered me a bit was that even though I had some degree of arthritis in my shoulder for a while now (I simply never felt it because the musculature that was built up around the joint was so well developed), things may get worse because I’ve been “opened up” from the surgery. Apparently there are several studies where patients have one issue, and as soon as it’s addressed surgically, a whole cascade of other issues spring up.

So the situation I’m in for the time being, is going to be building up the compound muscles surrounding the joint. However the process of doing so (weight training) will be putting pressure on the joint. So I’m going to have to be very smart about my training, pay careful attention to volume, frequency, even my choice of movements once I’m able to choose from a greater variety of course. I’m certainly used to being precise about my diet and supplementation, so that’s not worry, although my reasoning will now be a bit more important than simply winning shows.

A couple more weeks, and then I’ll be adopting a more traditional bodypart split, and cease the 3x weekly PT treatments.

S

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Stu,

How concerned with muscle loss do you think someone trying to get to 10-12% bodyfat should be concerned about? I know during your preps you’re always concerned with maximizing your retention of LBM, but does this apply to people just trying to get into beach shape?

Never really been this as lean as I am now and I’m just nervous about pushing for the next level without losing too much muscle.

73

mr. stu,

i know ive been asking you a lot, but there’s just some things that bug me…

when a supplement company says ingredients of their amino acids is from, hydrolyzed whey, whey concentrate, soy isolate, and etc… does this mean that it is only “whey” inside the pill or the tablet? or is just pharmaceutical grade of amino acids derived from the protein sources listed above. Is there a certain taste to distinguish fake from real?

fake supps are very rampant here in our place, they even mix powdered milk into our whey protein…

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[quote]Unaware wrote:
Stu,

How concerned with muscle loss do you think someone trying to get to 10-12% bodyfat should be concerned about? I know during your preps you’re always concerned with maximizing your retention of LBM, but does this apply to people just trying to get into beach shape?

Never really been this as lean as I am now and I’m just nervous about pushing for the next level without losing too much muscle.
[/quote]

While 10-12% bodyfat is certainly lean by normal standards, it’s nowhere near contest bodybuilder lean, and so the body will be able to get there and stay there much easier than single digit levels IMO. The goal of anyone attempting to lose bodyfat, AND look good at their end result, should be muscle retention. I always tell new clients (especially my female ones) that I can very easily structure a program to simply knock their scale weight down. The issue though is that they want to look good once they weigh less, and that’s where the muscle comes in (also in terms of metabolic momentum, but I don’t explain that to most non-physique athletes clients).

In terms of how much of a concern this should be for someone shooting for 10-12%, well, there are several variables:

-What is the individual’s starting weight and body composition (muscle mass)?
-How much time do we have to achieve our goals?
-How hard are you willing to work? (this applies to dietary adherence, supplements, and of course training and cardio)

-Also, some people I’ve found simply tend to hold onto lbm much better than others. I’m sure there’s a very sciencey-individualistic-type of explanation, but it doesn’t really matter.

Obviously, the longer you have, the easier it will be to hold onto muscle as you won’t have to alter your daily schedule that much to get smaller steps in progress.

In your case, you’ve gotten fairly lean, and just wanna go a bit further. You seem proud of where you’re at, and I’m going to assume that’s due to the leanness AND the muscle. Losing the muscle to me, when preventable, is never an acceptable option. Yes, extreme definition can create the appearance of having more muscle. Of course, wouldn’t you rather be extremely defined and actually have more muscle? -lol. Seriously though, your metabolic rate is based quite a bit on how much muscle you carry. One of the greatest perks of carrying the amount of size I used to was that I could pretty much just crush calories throughout the day. As long as I kept some type of frequent eating schedule, I would always be hungry again in a few hours, and any food my body didn’t need just seemed to go through me.

So you have the option of losing muscle, getting leaner, but possibly ending up with a much lower BMR, and having to actually watch what you eat more carefully to maintain the condition. On the other hand, you could take a bit more time, preserve more muscle in the process, end up leaner as well, but with more muscle, and hence a higher BMR. This would give you much more leeway in terms of staying closer to your condition without counting every single thing that goes down your pie hole.

Hope that helps a bit. It’s really going to come down to time frame, and what situation you want to be in once you’re leaner.

S

75

[quote]starofdavid5 wrote:
mr. stu,

i know ive been asking you a lot, but there’s just some things that bug me…

when a supplement company says ingredients of their amino acids is from, hydrolyzed whey, whey concentrate, soy isolate, and etc… does this mean that it is only “whey” inside the pill or the tablet? or is just pharmaceutical grade of amino acids derived from the protein sources listed above. Is there a certain taste to distinguish fake from real?

fake supps are very rampant here in our place, they even mix powdered milk into our whey protein…[/quote]

With what (little) knowledge I have about how our FDA works, my understanding is that ingredients have to be listed in order of their quantity in the product, even if the actual amount remains undisclosed.

I’ve also learned over the years, that when companies use the term “proprietary blend”, it’s usually a way of avoiding having to acknowledge just how much (usually very small amounts!) of a specific supplement they have actually put in their product.

Your concern is the true source from which the aminos are obtained from. In my opinion, and I’m certainly no biochemist here, so long as you’re actually getting the amount of aminos you desire, I wouldn’t see the source as having much of an effect (if I’m wrong here, and anyone has more of a background, please chime in!).

When you’re discussing actual protein sources (powders, ingredients in bars etc), as opposed to straight amino acids, then it can make a bit more sense to be concerned as the rate of digestion and absorption can vary quite a bit.

Since I’ve been a big fan of using protein blends of Casein and Whey for so long (and hydrolyzed Casein during my training), I don’t really obsess about the myriad of variations that are on the market.

S

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wow!thank you again mr. stu! now i have learned that what’s important is the digestion and absorption of these aa/ nutrients in the body.

cheers!

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hey stu i was just wondering how you train when your trying to gain size and what are your macro breakdowns
thanks mate

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[quote]tryn2gain wrote:
hey stu i was just wondering how you train when your trying to gain size and what are your macro breakdowns
thanks mate[/quote]

One important thing I learned over the years, is that excess protein beyond a certain point is useless. So are excess calories. I just wrote in another thread that the rate of weight gain in the off-season should be a well thought out balance of how much muscle you can honestly gain within a specified time frame, and just how comfortable you are with the amount of adipose (fat) that you will no doubt accumulate en route.

When I first calculated my BMR for my very first contest prep, I came up with 3400 cals. By staying around 3000, I was able to slowly bring my bodyfat down, while sitll maintaining my lean body mass.
This has been my starting point (approximately) for every contest prep I’ve done since I first started competing. On the couple of occasions when I’ve eaten what I want, and just added #s out of curiosity, it came out to about 4000 calories on most days. Obviously the times when I’ve gone out for bigger meals with friends or family pushed the #s up a bit, but the days when I slept in late and didn’t get everything in more than likely balanced it all out.

Also, I’ve written about this before, I tend to enjoy fatty foods. That doesn’t mean I’m downing tons of beef every day. It means that I’m very happy snacking on peanut butter, cashews, beef jerky etc. In fact, I usually have to raise my carbs when I start dieting! During a prep, my carbs are about 300g on most days, sometimes up to 400 on high carb days (usually 150 on low days). Off season, I have no idea, seriously. Sure I love my oatmeal, and yes I still cram in a bunch before training, but the rest of the day isn’t as planned.

Protein, I can guarantee that I’m eating at least 250g a day, every day. Now, for a guy who’s 205 lbs normally, and 176-180 lbs onstage, that may not sound like a lot, BUT if you’re other macros are in place, the protein you eat will be used for it’s intended purpose; building and repairing, not breaking it down to make into glucose for fuel.

Is it written in stone that these are my #s? Of course not. But these numbers are enough above maintenance that my body has put on muscle every year I’ve been stepping onstage, without becoming a giant fatty between contests.

Remember, you can only build muscle so quickly, no matte how great your diet and training are. Over feeding beyond what the new muscle tissue actually requires to synthesize and sustain isn’t going to speed things up!

S

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So, this week I’ve begun adopting more of a traditional bodypart split. It’s been just under 6 months that I’ve been going to PT 3x a week. During that time, I’ve been able to train legs fairly well, but my torso was severely limited. Still, in the last few weeks, I’ve been able to hit every bodypart with at least SOME type of exercise. In that time, I started to consciously focus on eating more, and while I can admit that I’m a long way from my usual physique, it has become apparent in just several weeks that I’m putting on some size. Last night, wearing a (now) fairly baggy shirt, my shoulders still protrude, and my back and traps are still fairly visible. Forearms are spouting some veins now that I’m exerting myself quite a bit, and while my biceps are going to lag for a while due to limited exercises, as well as feelings of stability (biceps attach to the rear portion of the labrum, which is where I really f-cked myself up!), my triceps are regaining their fullness day by day.

As my chest, which for the longest time was my major weak point, is going to be difficult to get a decent workout in for a while, I’ve decided that keeping it on it’s own day would be pointless. Too much volume, frequency, weight, or even most exercises would be a very bad thing. So my split for the immediate future will be this:
-Chest, Delts, Tris
-Back, Bis
-Quads, Abs
-Hams, Calves, Lowerback

I figure that since I’ve been doing so well with the quads and hams on different days, I might as well keep it.

I’ll get more detailed into how I’m managing to train chest a bit later, but for now, here’s a quick phone pic from the gym the other night showing off my injured wing. Yes, definitely sporting a nice delt and tricep pump, and without sounding like an ass, if I were anyone else but me (the former me -lol), I’d be very happy with this pic. Hell, if you went back in time and showed the young Stu this image and told him he’d one day look like this, he’d be damn happy. Of course now, sadly, I can’t overlook the fact that it’s a step back from where I was.

Still… nice to see some shape coming back! :slight_smile:

S

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Still following along Stu. Just wanted to say with the surgery and rehab you had to go through, I’m honestly surprised you look as big as you do already. I figured a surgery like that would have set you back further then this, but glad to see you proved me wrong.

I’ll be following along quietly, but im excited to see how quickly (and safely) you’re bouncing back.