Thanks for the in-depth response, Stu! I think it’s safe to say I should wait it out a few years until I really need it. Like I said though, I never really feel very MANly. Most of the time I feel stressed from school and even moody, it may be something I need to get checked out.
Stu, do u ever take your Mineral Support pills with Protein Powder or some kind of dairy ?
[quote]tolismann wrote:
Stu, do u ever take your Mineral Support pills with Protein Powder or some kind of dairy ?[/quote]
I usually take them with a couple of CLA pills, and then wash 'em all down with a Met Drive shake before bed.
S
So here we are at 5 weeks out. I weighed in this morning at 181 lbs. When I looked over my journal from last Spring’s contests, I saw that I was 176/175 at the start of the last week (the Monday before the show). So I realize that in order to be the same weight (all else being equal as far as size, conditioning etc), I’d have to get down to 175 in the next 4 weeks. Judging by my steady 1-1.5 lbs/week weight loss, this sounds like I’m certainly on the right track. What concerns me though, is the degree of definition I was able to sport in my quads last year. While I was extremely pleased with my upper body, and even my hams, calves, and to the most degree quads from the side poses, I honestly feel that had the competition been better, my lack of really deep upper quad details would have cost me the overall title.
This leads to my current concerns:
Knowing that I have a 2nd show lined up 5 weeks after the first one, do I kill myself for the 1st one because of the level and importance of the show (It is the Mr. America after all), or do I do the best with the time I have and regard it as more of a warm-up for the second, thus insuring I’ll be tighter for the 2nd show than I was last year?
When I think about what I want out of each show, it boils down to this:
-I want a respectable finish in the America. A Top 5 finish in my weight class would be a feather in my cap that I could look back on years from now. Especially considering how many Pros from other federations would be competing (just like I’m doing) because of the stature involved. Yes, a pro Card in this contest can be won, but only for the Overall Winner, and without sounding negative, I know the chances of one of the ‘smaller’ guys taking a show this big aren’t especially high.
-I’m aiming to take my class (or at least top 3) in the second show. Unlike the America, it’s a Regional Qualifier, so Pro cards are awarded to all class winners in addition to the Overall Champ. THIS is what I want insofar as ‘cementing’ my experience and knowledge base as a competitor, prep coach, and hopefully, writer.
Just putting my thoughts out there for you guys. Obviously I have no clue how things will ultimately go down, and with the cards falling as they may, I intend to bust my ass every step of the way.
S
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
So here we are at 5 weeks out. I weighed in this morning at 181 lbs. When I looked over my journal from last Spring’s contests, I saw that I was 176/175 at the start of the last week (the Monday before the show). So I realize that in order to be the same weight (all else being equal as far as size, conditioning etc), I’d have to get down to 175 in the next 4 weeks. Judging by my steady 1-1.5 lbs/week weight loss, this sounds like I’m certainly on the right track. What concerns me though, is the degree of definition I was able to sport in my quads last year. While I was extremely pleased with my upper body, and even my hams, calves, and to the most degree quads from the side poses, I honestly feel that had the competition been better, my lack of really deep upper quad details would have cost me the overall title.
This leads to my current concerns:
Knowing that I have a 2nd show lined up 5 weeks after the first one, do I kill myself for the 1st one because of the level and importance of the show (It is the Mr. America after all), or do I do the best with the time I have and regard it as more of a warm-up for the second, thus insuring I’ll be tighter for the 2nd show than I was last year?
When I think about what I want out of each show, it boils down to this:
-I want a respectable finish in the America. A Top 5 finish in my weight class would be a feather in my cap that I could look back on years from now. Especially considering how many Pros from other federations would be competing (just like I’m doing) because of the stature involved. Yes, a pro Card in this contest can be won, but only for the Overall Winner, and without sounding negative, I know the chances of one of the ‘smaller’ guys taking a show this big aren’t especially high.
-I’m aiming to take my class (or at least top 3) in the second show. Unlike the America, it’s a Regional Qualifier, so Pro cards are awarded to all class winners in addition to the Overall Champ. THIS is what I want insofar as ‘cementing’ my experience and knowledge base as a competitor, prep coach, and hopefully, writer.
Just putting my thoughts out there for you guys. Obviously I have no clue how things will ultimately go down, and with the cards falling as they may, I intend to bust my ass every step of the way.
S[/quote]
I wish I had great prep advice, but as you know, you know much more about this than I.
Just wishing you the best in both shows.
Stu…great to hear things are going well, i understand your concern about the wheels. my opinion upon first read/glance, i think you should push hard for the Mr. America show, it’s a big fucking show.
my camp (hehehehe) is 4wks out, abs are in nicely, wheels are getting smaller, tapered, leaner…we’re at 2x day cardio w/ leg training 2x week, heavily emphasis on the wheels at this point.
out to lunch w/ friends today and she brought egg whites in Tupperware to put on her garden salad. hold the croutons, hold the cheese, olive oil on the side, hand picked out the dried cranberry’s we forgot to hold, to drink a diet rootbeer 0sugar, zero cals!
i had a meatball sandwich on a nice panini bread w/ a diet rootbeer, very sensible 
Serious Q again about water manipulation and carb up.
when do you cut it if your show is Saturday pre-judging am, evening posing round? do you increase the load big time the days prior to the cutting it out or are you drinking roughly the same before you cut it out?
is your carb up on Friday while getting colored (you answered this all ready i know) is it slow all day every few hrs w/ carbs, how do you do it? fruit serving first for liver glycogen…time roughly if you could, thereafter is it simple carbs like rice, then onto simple sugar candy? are fats cut out the day before? proteins day of or day before???
day of, as PA mentioned do you/have you loaded w/ a flat soda like rootbeer? flat to avoid carbonation = bloat.
CHEERS STU!!! keep killing it!!!
Stu…great to hear things are going well, i understand your concern about the wheels. my opinion upon first read/glance, i think you should push hard for the Mr. America show, it’s a big fucking show.
my camp (hehehehe) is 4wks out, abs are in nicely, wheels are getting smaller, tapered, leaner…we’re at 2x day cardio w/ leg training 2x week, heavily emphasis on the wheels at this point.
out to lunch w/ friends today and she brought egg whites in Tupperware to put on her garden salad. hold the croutons, hold the cheese, olive oil on the side, hand picked out the dried cranberry’s we forgot to hold, to drink a diet rootbeer 0sugar, zero cals!
i had a meatball sandwich on a nice panini bread w/ a diet rootbeer, very sensible
Serious Q again about water manipulation and carb up.
when do you cut it if your show is Saturday pre-judging am, evening posing round? do you increase the load big time the days prior to the cutting it out or are you drinking roughly the same before you cut it out?
is your carb up on Friday while getting colored (you answered this all ready i know) is it slow all day every few hrs w/ carbs, how do you do it? fruit serving first for liver glycogen…time roughly if you could, thereafter is it simple carbs like rice, then onto simple sugar candy? are fats cut out the day before? proteins day of or day before???
day of, as PA mentioned do you/have you loaded w/ a flat soda like rootbeer? flat to avoid carbonation = bloat.
CHEERS STU!!! keep killing it!!!
Good progress.
Is your no-glasses-at-curls policy the key to your success?
[quote]FattyFat wrote:
Good progress.
Is your no-glasses-at-curls policy the key to your success?
[/quote]
…they always come back
[quote]cyruseven75 wrote:
Serious Q again about water manipulation and carb up.
when do you cut it if your show is Saturday pre-judging am, evening posing round? do you increase the load big time the days prior to the cutting it out or are you drinking roughly the same before you cut it out?
is your carb up on Friday while getting colored (you answered this all ready i know) is it slow all day every few hrs w/ carbs, how do you do it? fruit serving first for liver glycogen…time roughly if you could, thereafter is it simple carbs like rice, then onto simple sugar candy? are fats cut out the day before? proteins day of or day before???
day of, as PA mentioned do you/have you loaded w/ a flat soda like rootbeer? flat to avoid carbonation = bloat.
CHEERS STU!!! keep killing it!!![/quote]
Well, my ‘normal’ water intake that last week is around 3 gallons per day, so even if I were to drink as ‘normal’, I’d still be at about 2 gallons minimum by the afternoon… BUT because of the desired effect of drastically reducing/stopping the intake, I actually try to get all 3 gallons in before I cut mu intake, usually in the later afternoon/early evening. Remember, if you do this too fat in advance, your body will adjust itself before you want it to.
My carb up is basically spaced out every 2-3 hours, basically how I’d normally eat anyway. Yes, I do the fruits first (refill liver first, then the body will move onto storing in muscle tissue), then usually rice (it’s just easy on my stomach, and seems like a treat after my diet mon-thurs of that week), and eventually the really pure sugary stuff (candy, pie filling etc). While I do have some protein with each feeding that day, it’s not really the primary concern.
Usually the protein part of one of my meals is 8-10 oz of chicken, fish, 2 cups of egg whites etc, but on Friday, I don’t really worry about it. A small amount to help satiate me (don’t wanna overeat all my carbs in one feeding), and that’s usually enough (maybe 4-6 oz, but a normal size portion wouldn’t hurt you by any means). Fats I don’t really worry about.
All of my carb sources for Friday and Saturday are basically pure carb sources (not sure if you saw me snacking on Twizzlers backstage last year in Plattsburgh -lol). The only exception is usually a snickers bar, which gives a nice hit of sugar and salt before the pre-judging.
I have heard of competitors using flat soda, but as I’m really spartan about my liquid intake, and the fact that my stomach is particularly sensitive to distention from food, I prefer a solid source, similarly why I prefer Finibars to the SWF. Same basic reasoning behind both options, but just personal preference.
S
Hope this works, I tried Uploading it directly here but it kept getting stuck.
S
Jesus Stu, insane! Are you getting stronger or maintaining strength?
Looking Good Stu!!!
Stu,
Do all the high school girls at your school ask you for extra help with homework? LOL
Training videos from actual members who post good stuff are awesome.
Awesome video Stu.
What are you doing in the smith machine right at 3 minutes in? Some sort of behind the back Raise? Is it for rear delts and traps or…?
NO dips in the curl rack bro!
Triceps are looking extremely full. Video is great, makes me want to take a trip out to your home gym.
[quote]Blaze_108 wrote:
Awesome video Stu.
What are you doing in the smith machine right at 3 minutes in? Some sort of behind the back Raise? Is it for rear delts and traps or…?[/quote]
Haney shrugs
Great video Stu - came out very professional looking. : )
[quote]plateau wrote:
[quote]Blaze_108 wrote:
Awesome video Stu.
What are you doing in the smith machine right at 3 minutes in? Some sort of behind the back Raise? Is it for rear delts and traps or…?[/quote]
Haney shrugs[/quote]
Haney shrugs are just behind the back shrugs aren’t they? Seems like he was bringing it farther back behind him.