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

[The_Mighty_Stu]

[quote]armstrongorama wrote:
Hi Stu, having read your threads over the years and seen the great progress you have made I was wondering if you have basic macro guidlines that you recommend for starting cutting with? Also I would be interestged if you have any new thoughts around the trend for Intermitant Fasting and carb backloading strategies which have become popular. Thanks in advance hope your recovery continues to go well.[/quote]

Well, first let me say that everyone is different, and there are always going to be variables that you need to be concerned with. A couple that I feel are very important:

1- How much lean muscle mass you have. Nothing affects your BMR like how much muscle you’ve got to feed each day (besides your thyroid of course!) The more muscle you’ve already got, the more calories you can use to cut.

2- Your carb tolerance level. Some people can just house carbs without a second thought, while others will always need to be closer to ketogenic levels in order to get really lean.

My basic approach in terms of setting up a cut has always been:
-Figure out how many calories you need to drop fat at a slow, albeit steady pace
-Calculate how much Protein you need (Usually 1.25-1.5g/lb)
-Figure out healthy fats needed each day
-Fill the remaining calories with carbs, trying to focus on key points of the day, mostly peri-training

I’ve had lots of people ask my thoughts on IF the last year or so, and while I can’t speak from experience, I will say that I’m not really a fan of any type of fasting. Yes, I understand a lot of the people talking about a possible better utilization of nutrients following a fast, but to me, there’s just too much history and support for the older concept of maintaining a positive nitrogen balance (protein every few hours to affect the net turnover by the body).

Also, as someone who genuinely likes eating, I tend to get very hungry if I go more than a few hours without eating. Add to this the feeling of low blood sugar (and this may just be my own physiology) and there’s no way I’d go very long without eating so long as I can help it.

My buddy Jonathan has been a fan of the backloading, but despite his enjoyment at stuffing his face (and man can he eat!), I don’t know if he’s really of any better body composition because of it, or if it’s just a matter of simple convenience with his daily schedule.
I’ve read all of Keifer’s writings, but despite some of his statements sounding pretty good, I have yet to see a single Pro who makes use of his theories. This is despite his difficult to believe quotes of ridiculous levels of bodyfat (just like many online coaches and experts).

One thing I learned in my years of training and competing, is that all of the foundation stuff in regard to diet and training, has already been figured out. Sure some people will always be searching for new and better approaches, but if you ask me, I’ll take the path that I know will work vs a novel concept that sounds great on paper, but can’t produce any real people validating the approach.

Now, I’m NOT saying that these approaches won’t work, just that they either wouldn’t work, or I’m not willing to find out if they would for me. If you do decide to make use of either I.F. or Backloading, let me know how it works out for you!

S

[The_Mighty_Stu]

I just wanted to pop on here and give my thoughts a bit on how it feels being on ‘the other side’ of the judges table lately.
Obviously I’m not going to get ahead of myself and ponder whether I’ll be competing again or not, it’s too early for that, but in the meantime, I’ve been judges varius INBF contests.

The NorthEast America was a couple of weeks back, and just this past Saturday, I was asked to Judge the Mr America as well. The NE America went off very well. As a comeptitor, I know what it’s like to come away feeling like you didn’t get a fair shake from the judges. Let me tell you, very often, placing the lower end of the lineup is more difficult than the top 3!

Realizing that everyone up there worked their asses off, dieting for anywhere from 12-20 weeks, pounding away with the weights, the cardio, suffering in and out of their every day lives as people around them enjoy little things like birthday cake (I personally had none from '09 - '12), something as minor as 6th vs 7th place can make a huge difference to them.

At the America though, it was a little odd at first, because when I arrived, there were a lot of people (competitors) who knew me, or had actually competed against me over the years. It’s always cool to chat, and catch up, especially with people you’ve shared an experience with, but knowing that I had to be impartial, I didn’t want to get too friendly, lest I give the wrong impression to others congregating outside the venue.

Walking around with my “Judge Stu” badge was kinda cool too, struttin’ around feeling all special. In fact, I forgot that I still had it on when I ventured out after prejudging to grab a bite to eat at a local diner and was asked about the contest by my waitress -lol.

The head judge was Dwayne Broadway, who if you don’t know, is one of the real ‘old school’ legends in the sport. Teenage Mr USA in the early 80’s, 2x Mr. Universe, Dwayne’s done it all. Anyway, always upbeat, friendly, and just fun to be around, Dwayne grabbed me and sat me down next to him in the middle of the table.

Throughout the day, after each class was done being graded (judges don’t compare notes while doing their rankings, just talk about who they want to see next to who else), I’d comment on particular close calls, certain things that made my final decisions for me, and really just point out how often times, it’s not just how good you look, but who else is on stage with you (ie. the girl who took 1st at the NE America took 5th at the America!). Well, hearing Dwayne echo my feelings, and how he made the same selections for the same reasons, really confirmed that I’ve got a ‘good eye’ for this (as I’ve been told).

At the end of the night, the guy who was barely edged out last year won the overall. It was definitely a hell of a posedown, as the individual class winners really all look great. The pro photographer never showed up, so sadly the few pics I’ve seen on facebook look kinda crummy (very shiny backdrop might’ve screwed things up a bit). But as the new Mr. America stood onstage with his trophy, Dwayne and I (and the other judges) applauded, Dwayne screaming at the guy, me giving him the big thumbs up, he called to us “Mr Broadway, Mr Yellin, I hope you’re not going anywhere!”

At first, I was a bit surprised, I mean, who the hell knows the names of the judges?! I certainly never even looked the judges inthe face when I competed, it helped me focus less on the actual fact that I was flexing in a speedo in front of an auditorium full of strangers. Still, Dwayne, myself, and a couple of other Pros who were judging that day hung around for about half an hour, as several of the competitors cleaned up, and came looking for feedback.

Giving suggestions to people who knew of my own comeptitive history was seriously cool. Definitely the weird part of being on the other side. Despite all my jokes about not being one of the ‘young guys’ anymore, I guess the last 5 years have been enough of a chunk of time where I did make my little dent in the sport.

All in all, a very cool experience. Being able to stay involved with judging and coaching while I heal and see what the future holds for me, is definitely rewarding.

S

[jppage]

Very cool to hear stu.No matter witch direction your competitive career takes,this just goes to show that you will always be involved in the sport.Which will be very rewarding all by itself.

[shffl]

Hey stu, what’s your take on a high protein diet for fat loss? ie 60%P/30%F/10%C. Would very much like to see your opinion on this!

[The_Mighty_Stu]

[quote]shffl wrote:
Hey stu, what’s your take on a high protein diet for fat loss? ie 60%P/30%F/10%C. Would very much like to see your opinion on this![/quote]

Most diets for physique purposes are fairly high in protein. Not that we really require as much as some supplement ads might have you believe, but in our desire to keep the other macronutrients in somewhat of a check, we have to fill our caloric quotas with something.

As the ratios you gave denote a lower carb approach, I’ll give you a few thoughts on that:
-Low carb diets are great for running down levels of stored glycogen, and allowing your body more access to utilizing stored fat for fuel.
-Low carb diets are not the best in terms of maintaining, or building muscle mass, although how much this can negatively affect sometone is largely an individual thing. Some people experience large degrees of muscle loss, while others do just fine.
-If your body ‘fat adapts’ (usually within 2 weeks), you may experience more stable blood sugar levels, which some people feel suits their life style better. Getting to that point though doesn’t feel great.

You put the amount of carbs at 10%, which for someone who would typically ingest 3000 cals/day, that comes to 300 cals, which translates into 75g of carbs per day (4 cals per gram). This is roughly the equivalent of 2 1/2 bowls of oatmeal, or maybe 2 poptarts. BUT, we must also realize that there are incidental carbs, those that exist in foods that while we may not think of them as carb-foods, still bring a decent amount to the table (ie. a half cup of cashews has 16g of carbs).

I’ve used lower carb days myself in past contest preps, where taking into account incidentals in nuts, cottage cheese and other staples on my diet, I’ve still been able to keep some carb-source food around my workouts while coming in under 75g for the day. The small amount definitely helps in terms of gutting through a tough training session while on a caloric deficit, but the rest of the day isn’t exactly fun for me.

Dr Joe wrote that the human body is always carrying on some balance of carbohydrate metabolism, and fatty acid metabolism, and that the ratio is determined by activities, and what you’ve eaten (and stored). If you consider the amount of glycogen (stored carbohydrates) the body has at any given time as a car’s gas tank, it will make a lot more sense when you think of ‘running down’ glycogen levels so your body has to rely more on a greater amount of fatty acid metabolism. Of course when the tank is closer to empty, you’re not really in any position to train as hard, so you see the balance. This is why so many natural competitors will have higher and lower carb days. Some days, you top off the tank for more productive training as well as a bit of a hormonal reset, and other days, you run it on empty and really dig in, hoping to access your fat stores more.

I always suggest trying to keep in as many carbs as you can when dieting. It’s a no brainer in terms of muscle retention. However, as things get rough, you move to a cyclical approach, or even low-carbs with occasional refeeds as needed.

Like I said, it can be a very individual thing based on how your body reacts, and what your training entails.

S

[shffl]

Wow great post Stu, I didn’t expect such an informative post. Thanks!

[The_Mighty_Stu]

[quote]shffl wrote:
Wow great post Stu, I didn’t expect such an informative post. Thanks![/quote]

Lol, well, I don’t always get to update this thread as often as I’d like, so when I do, I aim to please

S

[The_Mighty_Stu]

So, a lot of you guys know that I work with many different male and female competitors and trainers, and it’s certainly been a very cool experience assuming the coaching role. Well, this last year has really seen my client base expand a bit to include more everyday folk, a couple of very overweight individuals, and even a few professional athletes (NFL and NBA players). During that time I’ve also been brought in as a guest lecturer at gyms, strength centers, and all locations you would typically think of as gym-related (addressing personal trainers, coaches etc). Well, yesterday, I had the amazing experience of speaking to a group of high school nutrition students and athletes.

Apparently my name was recommended through the Performance Training Center that I’m frequently at (several of their staff are clients of mine), and when they found out that I was also a high school teacher, it sounded like a great fit.

Let me tell you, just walking into the room where, as I later found out, the students had been shown videos of me training and competing were anxiously waiting just blew my mind. I had kids running up to me flexing their biceps before I even settled in! -lol.

We talked about my background, how I got into competing and how the contests are judged, and then things got really in depth, with tons of questions about general nutrition, eating for specific sports, ways to build muscles, the typical female concern of ‘I wanna look good, but not huge’, and anything else you could have imagined. During the Q&A, a couple of kids must have googled my image on their cel phones, because I was suddenly being shown images with “why do you look orange?!”

It was only supposed to be a quick 45 min thing (the kids stayed after school hours because I couldn’t get there earlier due to my own job), but it went 90 mins before the teacher kind of cut things off. Excitedly, we all posed for a photo, and a few were very reluctant to leave, peppering me with more questions as they slowly walked backwards out the door.

Just an amazing experience. I always talk about giving back, and helping others on these forums, and in the gym, but actually getting to see the look in young kids faces as someone who has actually ‘done it’ sits down and gives them the answers they seek,… well, I left the building with a huge smile on my face

S

[super_saiyan]

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
So, a lot of you guys know that I work with many different male and female competitors and trainers, and it’s certainly been a very cool experience assuming the coaching role. Well, this last year has really seen my client base expand a bit to include more everyday folk, a couple of very overweight individuals, and even a few professional athletes (NFL and NBA players). During that time I’ve also been brought in as a guest lecturer at gyms, strength centers, and all locations you would typically think of as gym-related (addressing personal trainers, coaches etc). Well, yesterday, I had the amazing experience of speaking to a group of high school nutrition students and athletes.

Apparently my name was recommended through the Performance Training Center that I’m frequently at (several of their staff are clients of mine), and when they found out that I was also a high school teacher, it sounded like a great fit.

Let me tell you, just walking into the room where, as I later found out, the students had been shown videos of me training and competing were anxiously waiting just blew my mind. I had kids running up to me flexing their biceps before I even settled in! -lol.

We talked about my background, how I got into competing and how the contests are judged, and then things got really in depth, with tons of questions about general nutrition, eating for specific sports, ways to build muscles, the typical female concern of ‘I wanna look good, but not huge’, and anything else you could have imagined. During the Q&A, a couple of kids must have googled my image on their cel phones, because I was suddenly being shown images with “why do you look orange?!”

It was only supposed to be a quick 45 min thing (the kids stayed after school hours because I couldn’t get there earlier due to my own job), but it went 90 mins before the teacher kind of cut things off. Excitedly, we all posed for a photo, and a few were very reluctant to leave, peppering me with more questions as they slowly walked backwards out the door.

Just an amazing experience. I always talk about giving back, and helping others on these forums, and in the gym, but actually getting to see the look in young kids faces as someone who has actually ‘done it’ sits down and gives them the answers they seek,… well, I left the building with a huge smile on my face

S[/quote]

Cool story bro. And I mean that for real. I bet the kids loved it.

How did you get hooked up with NBA and NFL players?

[myself1992]

Hey stu, I tried PMing you but it didn’t go through. I just threw up a log here in the logs section and put some pics. Could you take a look at them and let me know what I need to bring up or work on?

[The_Mighty_Stu]

[quote]super saiyan wrote:
Cool story bro. And I mean that for real. I bet the kids loved it.

How did you get hooked up with NBA and NFL players?[/quote]

Yeah, I received an email from their teacher yesterday telling me how I’m the talk of the school -lol. Man, I remember being in high school and being so amazed by the physique of a kid who had graduated and had come back to show us young-in’s on the track team how to throw discus. In hindsight, he might have been a whopping 180 lbs, but I was a not-lean 150 or so, and he actually had lumps and bumps like the super heroes I was always drawing in my notebooks.

It’s kind of funny watching how my client base has morphed over the last few years. Originally it was just bodybuilders and a rare figure girl here and there, then I slowly started getting contacted by more women (bikini and figure), soon more ‘regular’ folks would email with stories of how someone had recommended me, and then only this last year the athletes started popping up.

Cat always jokes about how weird it is that people find me because I don’t really advertise at all, but apparently word of mouth is a powerful thing (thanks to the internet I’ve got clients in several countries!)

I’ve made some great contacts due to my habit of going to seminars, review classes for more medical types (I sneak in with my brother -lol), and pretty much anywhere that I believe I’ll be able to learn more. As such, I’ve made contacts with folks who wouldn’t normally be around bodybuilding, or diet type circles. Well long story short, presently, my client lists includes quite a few DPTs, Athletic Trainers, and basically the folks who work alongside athletes when they’re either off season, or injured. When a pro athlete is working day after day with their doctor, trainer, therapist, and they see that person dramatically changes from week to week, well the results must carry a lot of weight.

Suffice to say, I’ve been very lucky

S

[The_Mighty_Stu]

So today’s my 40th birthday. It’s funny, because not even a year ago, I was telling the wife how maybe I had another year or two in the tank before I was going to hang up the posing trunks. Then the decision (at least for the immediate future) was sort of taken out of my hands.

Now, it’s all about putting myself back together, which to be honest, is becoming increasingly visually apparent the last couple of months, so thank goodness for that. Anyway, it’s crazy to think that even when doing one’s best to train intelligently, safely, and have a healthy overall outlook, doing any heavy weight bearing work for sufficient lengths of time can have some degree of wear and tear. Guess I’m human after all.

This is the first time I’m experiencing my birthday since 2008 where I’m not dieting for a contest. Of course the wife is counting down to the two shows she’s doing, and I find much more difficult to enjoy myself when she’s suffering than to actually suffer myself (I actually feel a little jealous that she’s prepping, what the hell is wrong with me? -lol) Anyway, Cat’s birthday is a few days after mine, so just as I’ve always done in the past with my own, we’re going to have a very belated (like 8 weeks belated) little celebration for both of us. I’m sure after dieting for so long by then that she’ll do some serious damage to wherever we feast (I’ll be sure to get some pics).

On the update front, a little summary:

• Cat’s got her warmup show in 2 weeks, and her real target show 6 weeks after that (she’ll be doing the Open division of the same show she won the Novice in back in 2011).
  -I’m visibly putting some meat on, most noticeably in my arms and back. Legs have always been okay, and delts and chest are very slow, easily being the most problematic areas.
  -I started squatting again, but as my preferred front-squatting variety is just too stressful to my bum shoulder, I’m doing back squats again for the first time in years as a main quad movement. Still placing it last in my sequence, but feeling good with some decent weights, all things considered.

As much as I do love training, and will always do my best to get to the gym whenever I can (it’s always part of my days off from work, vacations etc), I slept in a little bit today, and Cat actually talked me into skipping a day of training and relaxing. Part of me feels great right now, kicking back on my couch, feet up on the coffee table (wife stepped out so I’m not getting yelled at!), blinds in our living room up with the sun flooding in, window letting a nice gentle breeze blow through, doggy sleeping at my feet… but the other part of me is so anxious to feel comfortable walking down the street looking like I’m “supposed to look”, that any day off feels like a missed opportunity. All about balance and perspective. Gonna do my best to relax today. All in all, I’ve got it pretty good.

S

[myself1992]

Happy birthday man

[super_saiyan]

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]super saiyan wrote:
Cool story bro. And I mean that for real. I bet the kids loved it.

How did you get hooked up with NBA and NFL players?[/quote]

Yeah, I received an email from their teacher yesterday telling me how I’m the talk of the school -lol. Man, I remember being in high school and being so amazed by the physique of a kid who had graduated and had come back to show us young-in’s on the track team how to throw discus. In hindsight, he might have been a whopping 180 lbs, but I was a not-lean 150 or so, and he actually had lumps and bumps like the super heroes I was always drawing in my notebooks.

It’s kind of funny watching how my client base has morphed over the last few years. Originally it was just bodybuilders and a rare figure girl here and there, then I slowly started getting contacted by more women (bikini and figure), soon more ‘regular’ folks would email with stories of how someone had recommended me, and then only this last year the athletes started popping up.

Cat always jokes about how weird it is that people find me because I don’t really advertise at all, but apparently word of mouth is a powerful thing (thanks to the internet I’ve got clients in several countries!)

I’ve made some great contacts due to my habit of going to seminars, review classes for more medical types (I sneak in with my brother -lol), and pretty much anywhere that I believe I’ll be able to learn more. As such, I’ve made contacts with folks who wouldn’t normally be around bodybuilding, or diet type circles. Well long story short, presently, my client lists includes quite a few DPTs, Athletic Trainers, and basically the folks who work alongside athletes when they’re either off season, or injured. When a pro athlete is working day after day with their doctor, trainer, therapist, and they see that person dramatically changes from week to week, well the results must carry a lot of weight.

Suffice to say, I’ve been very lucky

S[/quote]

I think the results from your clients have more to do with it than luck.

Happy Birthday!

[elusive]

I’ve been away from the site for awhile, but I just now seen this thread. Congrats on all your success Stu and Happy Birthday!

[The_Mighty_Stu]

Ok, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything about having a belated 40th celebration. What I thought were just simple plans to meet up with my brothers and brother n’ sister in law for lunch turned into a giant super hero themed surprise party that Cat had been planning since March.

I honestly had absolutely no clue, and you can tell by the look on my face in photos. And seeing some of my more straight laced friends dressed in costumes,… well, it was truly priceless. Cat even had a Batman costume on hand for me (I’ve got kind of a Batman ‘thing’), and she pulled off the Catwoman attire quite nicely as well. All I’ve got to say is that I’ve got an amazing wife. And yes, she stayed on her contest diet, eyes always on the prize, that’s my girl.

S

[super_saiyan]

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Ok, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything about having a belated 40th celebration. What I thought were just simple plans to meet up with my brothers and brother n’ sister in law for lunch turned into a giant super hero themed surprise party that Cat had been planning since March.

I honestly had absolutely no clue, and you can tell by the look on my face in photos. And seeing some of my more straight laced friends dressed in costumes,… well, it was truly priceless. Cat even had a Batman costume on hand for me (I’ve got kind of a Batman ‘thing’), and she pulled off the Catwoman attire quite nicely as well. All I’ve got to say is that I’ve got an amazing wife. And yes, she stayed on her contest diet, eyes always on the prize, that’s my girl.

S[/quote]

Sounds fun; you’re a lucky guy.

[kravi]

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Ok, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything about having a belated 40th celebration. What I thought were just simple plans to meet up with my brothers and brother n’ sister in law for lunch turned into a giant super hero themed surprise party that Cat had been planning since March.

I honestly had absolutely no clue, and you can tell by the look on my face in photos. And seeing some of my more straight laced friends dressed in costumes,… well, it was truly priceless. Cat even had a Batman costume on hand for me (I’ve got kind of a Batman ‘thing’), and she pulled off the Catwoman attire quite nicely as well. All I’ve got to say is that I’ve got an amazing wife. And yes, she stayed on her contest diet, eyes always on the prize, that’s my girl.

S[/quote]

Pictures or it didn’t happen!

–Me

[The_Mighty_Stu]

[quote]kravi wrote:

Pictures or it didn’t happen!

–Me[/quote]

Only got a few I swiped off of Facebook, but you guys know I love to share

[The_Mighty_Stu]

S