Mighty's Contest Updates & Q&A Thread

Training
421

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
And let me say that I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about opening a gym and just getting out of my day job (It’s really become less enjoyable this past year in case you’re not from NY and don’t know all the BS that’s going on with our education system here). I’d have to find a way to carry the complete Biotest line of supplements though, as well as set up a few power racks so the members could perform presses from pins and any other creative stuff Thibs comes up with. Of course the expected 8x10" glosses of myself from various contests, and maybe, just maybe I can get one of those cool Giant T-Nation Logo Banners to put up :smiley:

ahhh… a man can dream -lol

S[/quote]

Well I am a New Yorker, Westchester if that counts as NY to the NYC guys, well aware of NYC schools…the bureaucracy does suck…gotta be better than Wisconsin though…

Take care and best of luck

422

after seeing the pictures you posted from your comp I feel that is completely undeniable… that was some seriously atrocious judging! I mean WTF?!?

Keep doing what you do and rock this next show. Your hard work will pay off (has paid off) Dont let this one robbery deter you Stu. You’re the man

423

Just wanted to pop in and say you look awesome in the pictures and the video Stu, no one on the stage beat you, the judges beat you.

If you can come in even better at your upcoming show you will no doubt make some big waves.

424

Thanks guys. If anything, my posting up of the prejudging video has certainly gotten me a nice swarm of “you were robbed” emails, due to this site, youtube, and a couple of other sites I posted the link on just to see what sort of feedback I’d receive (I made sure not to whine, or bitch, or say anything negative, leaving the video to speak for itself).

As much as I do take some consolation from knowing that the title is sort of cheapened by the whole situation (I think a bodybuilding fan with any degree of knowledge would have a difficult time understanding the actual criteria being used on that day), being able to put “Mr. America” on my business cards, no matter how poor the actual level of competition, would have been pretty cool.

I’m just going to keep driving myself as hard as I can these next few weeks. I don’t have any plans to cut my numbers any more, instead looking for extra opportunities for NEPA, as well as my steady state morning cardio, and even post workout steady state work (which I truly hate, but at this point, you do what you have to do). My carbs are still targeted just at breakfast, and preworkout (still using 3 Finibars!), which when tallied with my incidentals has be around 175g on most days (I used to be around 225-250 on most days).

The June 25th show should be a monster as far as the level of competition goes. It’s without a doubt this federations largest show in terms of sheer numbers (I think they had 150-200 last year!) Because it’s a “super-pro qualifier”, simply winning your class ensures a pro card, so you can imagine the turnout. Having been in the audience the last two years, as well as watched videos and seen photos from other years’ stagings, I can honestly predict that this will be one hell of a fight for me.

The Middleweight class winner is usually not only shredded to ribbons, but carries well enough size to look damn beastly. If anyone has ever seen Rob Moran (Scivation guy), this is the show and class that he snagged his pro card out a few years back. I think Anthony Monetti won his card in this show, as well as Shaun Clarida, so you can see the level of guys who show up. Damn I hope my legs get tighter! -lol

S

425

I thought this would be interesting…

While my bodyweight had hit a low of 176.0 last Saturday, as is now the expected response with my physiology, it then bounced right up again.

Sat 176.0
Sun 177.2
Mon 178.0
Tues 179.0 (WTF?! -lol)
Wed 176.8 (This morning right out of bed)

Today is a high day, so I’m shooting to really cram in the carbs, scale back the protein a bit, and try to take things easy (I’ve been going for a walk after lunch just for a little NEPA these last two weeks, gonna skip it today and let my body rest a bit). Normally, tomorrow would be a low day, which would involve abs and cardio work (intervals), and be followed by another medium/weight work day.

What I’m going to do in attempt to really throw my body a curve ball as the show gets closer, is to follow today’s high day (legs) with two back to back low (cardio) days. I know some people would obsess about it being to stressful and possibly losing muscle, but believe me, it takes a hell of a lot more than a couple of days of undereating or overtraining to lose any noticeable muscle. Sure this will suck, but there are no do-overs in this game.

S

426

I’m currently following my High day with 2 low days and it seems to work really well. Its pretty apparent after those 2 days that extra leanness is there.

Stu, do you ever drop the Full Anaconda Protocol down in terms of the Finibars? It seems like an easy place to kill 300-600 calories a day leading into the final weeks. Obviously you want to keep quality food and calories around the workout time, but in these extreme cases (stage conditioning) it seems like an easy place to find some big calorie opportunities.

I think I remember CT saying one of his guys was living of off MAG-10 leading into a contest, which might help hold onto some muscle while dipping low on some of the training cals. Just my rambling thoughts here though, obviously you have a few years doing this and know how your body reacts.

427

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
I’m currently following my High day with 2 low days and it seems to work really well. Its pretty apparent after those 2 days that extra leanness is there.

Stu, do you ever drop the Full Anaconda Protocol down in terms of the Finibars? It seems like an easy place to kill 300-600 calories a day leading into the final weeks. Obviously you want to keep quality food and calories around the workout time, but in these extreme cases (stage conditioning) it seems like an easy place to find some big calorie opportunities.

I think I remember CT saying one of his guys was living of off MAG-10 leading into a contest, which might help hold onto some muscle while dipping low on some of the training cals. Just my rambling thoughts here though, obviously you have a few years doing this and know how your body reacts.[/quote]

The only time I screw with the original protocol (3 Finibars) is on my lower carb days. Because I make use of Interval cardio work, I still make sure I ingest some carbs before training (something I missed the point of when prepping for my 1st show). I’m sure a lot of people think that by not having carbs, they ‘burn more fat’, but it all comes down to the productivity of the session, plus the fact that not only does the majority of caloric burn from interval work come in the 23 hours AFTER the session, but the body runs off of glycogen during the actual sprints (so by all means, make 'em as effective as you can!) Any other day, I use the full 3 bars. On Low days, 1 or 2 depending on where my numbers are at that point in the prep.

*** Remember, it’s not just all about calories when dropping fat. I could quote some truly great prep coaches who will all agree that the law of thermodynamics doesn’t apply to body composition changes (and I’d be right there in agreement! -lol)

I will point out that even though today and tomorrow have been planned as ‘low’ days, I’ve decided to replace my usual interval work with steady state. The reasoning is that with my bodyfat already being pretty damn low, and the contest being about 2 weeks away (15 days actually), I’m concerned about the stress levels I’m subjecting my body do, and figure that pulling back a bit may actually have a positive effect on my metabolism (too much stress can slow you down more than you realize).

Yesterday’s high carb intake has already provided a nice boost and dropped me back down to 176.0 this morning, so today and tomorrow’s combination of low cals/carbs, combined with double bouts (morning and evening) of steady state cardio should hopefully dig me a bit lower come next week.

Oh yeah, and you’re referring to Kevin Norbert. Great guy, we chat on facebook occasionally. I guess that was sort of the fore bearer of the pulse fast, where you’re essentially running on very low ‘real’ food, but keeping s steady stream of aminos flowing in to stave off excessive catabolism. While I’m not a fan of fasting of any kind, I have had some seriously low food intake days, where I’m basically guzzling Mag-10 all day, but not really ingesting a large quantity of solid foods (always kept a Finibar before training though, need to know my workouts were productive!)

I believe though that Kevin was trying to make a specific weight class for a contest. Anytime you do anything extreme like that, you do risk losing some muscle in the process, but when time is the motivating factor, you do what you have to do :slight_smile:

S

428

Stu,
In what order do you work your muscles on ‘interval days’?

  1. Forearms
  2. Abs
  3. Calves
  4. HIIT ?
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On my ‘interval days’ I usually start with abs and lower back, then some forearm work (I only do this during a prep), and finally my cardio. A typical session looks like:

Cross bench leg raises (very limited ROM)
Russian twists with a plate on a decline bench
Decline Crunches (again, very limited ROM)
Weighted Hyperextensions (I don’t do full deads anymore, so I hold a 45 lb plate for these)
Wrist extensions (rest my forearms over a bench, and hold a cambered barbell)
Behind Back write curls (regular straight bar)
and then eventually bike sprints.

I snapped this pic about 5 mins ago, just getting changed to hit the gym, and in the dimly lit bathroom of my little Queens apartment, I was actually quite shocked at the detail coming in lately in my delts… damn I hope this keeps up! -lol

S

430

Wow, great details, great shape!

Off-topic: how many people live in your little flat? That’s quite many tooth brushes (don’t know the proper English word…).

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[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

I snapped this pic about 5 mins ago, just getting changed to hit the gym, and in the dimly lit bathroom of my little Queens apartment, I was actually quite shocked at the detail coming in lately in my delts… damn I hope this keeps up! -lol

S[/quote]

Your delts look amazing man!

432

Thanks guys. I’ve been very lean before, but not with this much size and thickness. After training a little while ago, I was hitting a few poses in the locker room, and a few of the regulars think I’m undoubtedly further along than I’ve been for any other show. Actually, I don’t know if it was the lighting or not, and I’m always hesitant to say anything positive about my legs, but not only were the Rectus femori on both quads popping quite prominently tonight, but other people (myself as well -lol) noticed some slight feathering going on in my right quad… so we’ll see if that’ll be something new onstage in 2 weeks. Additionally, a whole lotta new detail coming in my upper back, specifically in the scapula/rhomboid area. While this is certainly not the first time I’ve weighed this much (176 today, won my pro card last May at 172.6 lbs), I can honestly say that this is the first time I’ve looked so damn tight and grainy (just the overall appearance of my skin looked different tonight) while still appearing thick. As the sole new addition has been the I3G the last few weeks, I can only imagine what would happen if I were able to really jack up my carb intake, and not just maximize how my body is handling them.
(wish to god I had brought a camera tonight! -lol)

S

433

[quote]ParagonA wrote:
Off-topic: how many people live in your little flat? That’s quite many tooth brushes (don’t know the proper English word…).[/quote]

Lol, Both my girl and I have multiple toothbrushes. I guess I figure you get more life out of 'em if you rotate, like sneakers :slight_smile:

(that and the fact that I never throw anything out. If left on my own, I’d have 10 of 'em in the cup by the end of the year! -lol)

S

434

Okay,… seriously starting to look grainy in certain lighting… I can only assume that the two back to back days of low carbs/double steady state cardio sessions, and the I3G were a hit. Now I’m thinking of repeating the double low days the next time I’m scheduled for one low day. I doubt that prolonging a weight session will have any real negative impact at this point, so let’s see how uncomfortable I can truly make myself this week (better stock up on lots more sugar free jello cups!)

S

435

How many jello cups are you eating a day Stu?

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Some days between 4-6, depending on how sick I get of filling myself up with vegetables. I actually just got back a little while ago from my usual Sunday food run (BJ’s, Trader Joes, and then a local supermarket). My freezer door barely closes with all the frozen chicken, tilapia, Ezekial Bread and frozen vegetables in there, but here’s a quick cel phone shot of my fridge:

As you can see, it’s ‘contest-complete’ with tupperware of pre-cooked chicken breasts, too many containers of liquid egg whites to count, tons of cottage cheese, several family size bags of chopped romaine lettuce, a few bags of raw broccoli and cauliflower, half sour pickles (my girlfriend loves these,… no comments! -lol), diet soda (which won’t make you fat for the record), just enough lactaid milk (lasts longer than regular milk) for small amounts in the several cups of coffee I down on my low carb days, various nut butters (Peanut butter, Power peanut butter, almond butter), and of course enough sugar free jello snack packs to make even the most hardcore dieters grin.

S

437

Ha - Most people would open that fridge and think “Ugh, where is the real food?”

Most people in this thread would think “Finally, some real food”

I like it man, Cant wait to see the condition you bring to the next contest.

438

lol at that shot.

regarding pickles, the vlassic bread and butter w/ no sugar added (sweetened w/ splenda) are ridiculous… just another item you can add to make life suck a little bit less :wink:

btw i cant believe you found DIET cream soda i swear i’ve been looking for years!!

439

So I was just stumbling through some forums trying to learn a little more about the site before starting my own thread, and I have to say your abs are rediculous. Great Work Man, best wishes and good luck in all upcoming contest endeavors. I’m sure you’ll do great.

440

Ok, so yesterday my weight was 176.2. It had been 176.0 the previous Saturday, but then always higher on each day after. Even after the back to back low days, despite looking much tighter (lotta compliments at the gym), and my skin taking on a much drier and grainy look, my weight seems to WANT to go up. I’m not sure if this is an effect from the Indigo causing my body to make better use of the nutrients it’s receiving, or if it just wanting to grow after dieting for so long, but I’m trying damned hard to not be concerned with my weight (which ain’t easy as I’m always right at the cusp of middleweight and light-heavyweight).

No matter how things turn out though, I do believe that if my condition (not my weight, but the appearance my skin seems to be taking) continues like this, it will definitely be motivation to remain leaner this summer, focus on quality gains within a certain weight-gain limit, and attack the INBF World Championships in the Fall.

My thinking is that every top competitor achieves greater overall conditioning each successive year they compete. While the improvements I’ve made the last 3 years are certainly obvious to me, hopefully this year will be the one when it all just comes together.

S