Great videos Stu. You certainly look mighty!
Good luck with the contest.
[quote]Rocky2 wrote:
The videos are great, it’s nice to see what you do in your workout. Your calves are looking bigger.
I’ve recently added incline BB back into my chest days and have been loving it.[/quote]
I’ve always been a fan of Incline BB work, it just felt more natural to me in terms of stretching and contracting my actual chest muscles instead of just moving the weight like I did when heavy flat benching. A couple of years ago though, I got away from the traditional angle (usually fixed at about 45 degree or slightly less), and starting toying with very slight inclines (15-30 degrees) with dumbells utilizing more of an ARCING motion when ‘pressing’ the weights.
While this did feel great, as well as allow me to really feel much more of my mid chest area being stressed (admittedly a weak point of mine), my training partner pointed out that in focusing so much on ‘sculpting’ my chest, I had lost a bit of the upper thickness I had previously sported after years of just focusing on heavy HEAVY incline Barbell work. Eventually, I worked them both into my routine, before adopting a reliance on the low incline cable flyes you see me use in my previous chest video. Additionally, something that unexpectedly contributed to my upper chest has been the inclusion of REVERSE GRIP MILITARY PRESSES, which was originally intended solely as a pre-exhaust for my front delts.
Try to remember that even when you stumble upon something that magically ‘works’, whether an exercise, rep scheme, method or performance, whatever, it will only work for so long before your body will require something new to adapt to. I’ve always loved the twofold bodybuilding adage of:
-Everything Works
-…BUT Nothing Works for Long -lol
S
unbelievable work in here
the videos are epic, I feel like im watching the old school road to the olympia clips lol
best of luck to you
From earlier tonight, enjoy 
S
Another AWESOME video, Stu! It’s great to be able to get a bird’s eye view on the training of one of the most respected guys on the forums.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
From earlier tonight, enjoy
S
[/quote]
Ahhh…the Priest!! Great choice of music. Looking great Stu - as usual. : )
great video,serratus looks very ripped trough the trunk
Stu, I had a question, but I kept reading and forgot it- damn! This thread is definitely awesome, and will be a staple as I change a lot of things with my training & nutrition.
Remembered- I think my worst muscle group is lats- width especially. My lats insert low enough that they should be capable of a good flare, yet they don’t flare. Perhaps this is just a matter of needing more mass. These pulldowns you’re doing (I’m on an iPad so i can’t see the videos you’re posting at the moment)- I assume you are using the close grip, parallel handle, aka “v grip” as I call it? And are you literally keeping your elbows together? I can get elbows close, but I can’t touch them together, but I’m interested in this move. Thanks.
Stu, what are you planning on weighing in at on contest day?
Siiicckkk new video.
Hey Guys,
Okay, I’ll try to comment and answer questions at some point tomorrow,… I got in pretty late last night from being out of town for my brother’s first BBing contest (he took 1st Open Lightheavies and 3rd Novice Heavies) about which I’ll write and get a few pics when I can,… had to pick up my dog from my Parents’ house, get her to the Vet to have Staples (stitches) removed (Hernia Surgery), get some food shopping done, and still get my training in. Ready to pass out now, but I managed to grab this… well, actually my girlfriend managed to grab this at the gym, so if you guys appreciate the recent peeks into my contest training, thank her
S
that exercise youre doing around the 3 minute mark of the latest vid is pretty badass. also super impressed with your tri’s. they seem to be noticeably bigger every time i stop in here.
could you comment on your daily macros and supplements? i saw a few pages ago that you’ve been taking Alpha Male and mineral support. specifically, what have you been taking the hour before through the hour after training, and what other “health” type supplements are you taking for recovery? rhodiola? curcumin? superfood?
[quote]dez6485 wrote:
Remembered- I think my worst muscle group is lats- width especially. My lats insert low enough that they should be capable of a good flare, yet they don’t flare. Perhaps this is just a matter of needing more mass. These pulldowns you’re doing (I’m on an iPad so i can’t see the videos you’re posting at the moment)- I assume you are using the close grip, parallel handle, aka “v grip” as I call it? And are you literally keeping your elbows together? I can get elbows close, but I can’t touch them together, but I’m interested in this move. Thanks.[/quote]
Yes, I use the ‘V-Grip’ Handle. I have made use of various parallel handles in the past as well though, simply for some variety. In order to really target the lats, you want to keep your elbows as close together as you can. I know some people just won’t be able to get as close as I do, and sometimes, it even feels awkward for me, but by maintaining a parallel position with your forearms, minimizing the ROM to keep stress on the muscle, and insuring that you keep an upright torso, you should still be able to benefit quite a bit from the movement.
S
[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
Stu, what are you planning on weighing in at on contest day?[/quote]
I try not to obsess about what I’ll weigh, but at this point, I have figures in my head from past contests…
At my 1st show in May 2009, I hit the stage at 170 lbs. The next year, my 2nd show (April 2010), I weighed in at 173 lbs, but to be honest, the scale was totally off, and the promoter reshuffled classes around to help a few of the guys he prepped, so I would guess I was more like 174-176 onstage. In May 2010, at my 3rd show, I weighed in at 172.6 lbs (I tell people 173), and this was where I won the Overall and my pro Card. At the start of the last week of my prep, I was about 175/176, so there was a good 3 lbs lost that last week, likely from water loss.
Even though I won that May 2010 show, I can admit that my quads could have been a hair tighter, and losing another lb or two wouldn’t have killed me (there are a lot of top pros of my height who compete much lighter than I have!) I figure that as long as I’m down around the mid 170’s (175-177) at the start of this upcoming ‘Peak Week’, I’ll look good enough to feel okay about wherever I place, but not so decimated that I’ll be burning muscles as I keep going for the second show 5 weeks later.
S
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Hey Guys,
Okay, I’ll try to comment and answer questions at some point tomorrow,… I got in pretty late last night from being out of town for my brother’s first BBing contest (he took 1st Open Lightheavies and 3rd Novice Heavies) about which I’ll write and get a few pics when I can,… had to pick up my dog from my Parents’ house, get her to the Vet to have Staples (stitches) removed (Hernia Surgery), get some food shopping done, and still get my training in. Ready to pass out now, but I managed to grab this… well, actually my girlfriend managed to grab this at the gym, so if you guys appreciate the recent peeks into my contest training, thank her
S[/quote]
Heya Stu
I very much liked that glute/ham raise on the lat machine! Going to try this in my leg workout tomorrow.
I always do them on the floor in front of the squat rack where I put a pin in a very low possition so I can “hook in” my feet. But this really hurts my toes, heels and knees every time!
Very cool idea, thank you for sharing!
Cheers, PA
[quote]ParagonA wrote:
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Hey Guys,
Okay, I’ll try to comment and answer questions at some point tomorrow,… I got in pretty late last night from being out of town for my brother’s first BBing contest (he took 1st Open Lightheavies and 3rd Novice Heavies) about which I’ll write and get a few pics when I can,… had to pick up my dog from my Parents’ house, get her to the Vet to have Staples (stitches) removed (Hernia Surgery), get some food shopping done, and still get my training in. Ready to pass out now, but I managed to grab this… well, actually my girlfriend managed to grab this at the gym, so if you guys appreciate the recent peeks into my contest training, thank her
S[/quote]
Heya Stu
I very much liked that glute/ham raise on the lat machine! Going to try this in my leg workout tomorrow.
I always do them on the floor in front of the squat rack where I put a pin in a very low possition so I can “hook in” my feet. But this really hurts my toes, heels and knees every time!
Very cool idea, thank you for sharing!
Cheers, PA
[/quote]
x2
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
Stu, what are you planning on weighing in at on contest day?[/quote]
I try not to obsess about what I’ll weigh, but at this point, I have figures in my head from past contests…
At my 1st show in May 2009, I hit the stage at 170 lbs. The next year, my 2nd show (April 2010), I weighed in at 173 lbs, but to be honest, the scale was totally off, and the promoter reshuffled classes around to help a few of the guys he prepped, so I would guess I was more like 174-176 onstage. In May 2010, at my 3rd show, I weighed in at 172.6 lbs (I tell people 173), and this was where I won the Overall and my pro Card. At the start of the last week of my prep, I was about 175/176, so there was a good 3 lbs lost that last week, likely from water loss.
Even though I won that May 2010 show, I can admit that my quads could have been a hair tighter, and losing another lb or two wouldn’t have killed me (there are a lot of top pros of my height who compete much lighter than I have!) I figure that as long as I’m down around the mid 170’s (175-177) at the start of this upcoming ‘Peak Week’, I’ll look good enough to feel okay about wherever I place, but not so decimated that I’ll be burning muscles as I keep going for the second show 5 weeks later.
S[/quote]
Thanks for the insight, I’m not competitive (yet) but I am currently trying to get into near-stage condition and am 177 as of today with 7 weeks left to go(pic in profile, didnt want to post it in your thread) I figure I’ll be finishing up around 167-170 when its all said and done, probably wont get that lean again for a few years as its absolutely time consuming/life consuming towards the end here (and I’m not even fully invested yet)
[quote]E99_Curt wrote:
that exercise youre doing around the 3 minute mark of the latest vid is pretty badass. also super impressed with your tri’s. they seem to be noticeably bigger every time i stop in here.[/quote]
Thanks, I’ve been trying to avoid stiff leg deads for fear of re-tweeking my lower back, which gets a bit temperamental when my bodyfat gets really low. This leaves me rotating seated ham curls, laying or single leg ham curls, walking lunges, and what you see me doing in the video - essentially a glute-ham raises which hurts like hell, especially should you choose to do it at the end of your sessions like I do
Really? My tris? In this video? I always feel, and appear noticeably smaller in the torso when I train legs. Once the blood starts heading below the waist (wait, that sounded bad -lol) I can’t even get a good pump in my arms or torso. That’s actually why you’ll always see me covered up on leg days, otherwise it really screws with my head, making me think I’ve wasted away even more than I already have.
[quote]
could you comment on your daily macros and supplements? i saw a few pages ago that you’ve been taking Alpha Male and mineral support. specifically, what have you been taking the hour before through the hour after training, and what other “health” type supplements are you taking for recovery? rhodiola? curcumin? superfood?[/quote]
At this point, 3 weeks out from first show, I’m averaging (my baseline, or ‘medium’ days) 2500-2600 cals, about 200-225g carbs, somewhere around 250-300g prot, and I’d guesstimate about 75-90g of fats per day.
Here’s a rundown of my current supplement schedule:
-Wake up: A Thermongenic, 5g BCAAs
-After Walking Dog: Receptormaxx
-After morning Cardio/Before Breakfast: AlphaMale
-Throughout my work day: Curcumin and Flameout with meals, Receptormax 20 mins before lunch
-After Work: A Thermogenic (Meltdown), 2 cap fulls of Alpha GPC, and some Alpha Male.
-After walking my pup:Mix up my Anaconda/MAG-10 and let sit in the fridge for about an hour.
-30 mins Later:Receptormax
-10 mins Later:3 Finibars
-Peri-Workout: Anaconda/MAG-10
-Before Leaving Gym: Receptormax (about 20-30 mins before ‘dinner’)
-About 20 mins pre-bed: Mineral Support, 2 CLA Capsules
Without the combo of Curcumin and Flameout I doubt I would be able to continue to train with the intensity I do. My joints have taken one hell of a beating over the years (I’ll be 38 this Thursday, and I started training shortly before my 20th Birthday,… so that’s a hell of a run so far!) and I need to take some care as well as precautions if I want to continue pushing the envelop.
I’ve never tried Superfood, but might see how it affects me after the stresses of multiple contest preps, especially as I’ve certainly been seeing benefits of using supplements more as I both get older and try to push myself into higher competitive arenas.
S
This is some great stuff stu. Been following you on and off throughout your preps and even mentioned a while ago how much motivation your logs have been contributing to getting involved in the sport.
Looking hard!.. despite the lack of color lol. I can definitely relate to the fair skin-tone though and always look forward to the super dramatic change in overall conditioning (on top of the last few weeks of dieting) once the tan comes on! Looking forward to seeing your progress these last few weeks.
I noticed you use Meltdown now, instead of the Lipo 6 I may recall you’ve used in previous preps. Right? Have you noticed a difference between the two? I just received my bottle of Meltdown and making the same transition, the reason I ask.